
' S / J 



•••:<? Co 211 Tremor 



A I) I) R ESS 

i»i.i.i\ I 1:1 I' I I 1 in 

UN IT A R IAN CHURCH. 

IN OXBRIDGE, MASS., 

In 1864, 



Willi lIKTllli: BTATEMENTS, NOT M\M A PABT "l THE 
\ LESS, in i 1N< l.i DED IN I ill NOTES. 

HENRY CHAPIN. 



IV o r r r a 1 1 x : 

PBISfl "i CHAB LE8 BAMILT< 

; 1 1 Mu\ - i i: i 

I - - I . 



iFUitrt), toith 13rcfacr, Biographical Sftftd) of 

3utjgc iffiapin, ano Uppcnbicrs relating to the jl?ts 
toru of Cliuriogr, uu 

ftusbton D. Burr. 
Sger, fttass., Xou., I88t 



COIN T E NT 8. 



I- M.I . 

Pm r* i 1X 

uiin m Ski nil n 

'" 



3 pp futures. 



Tax Successors of Ki \ . Mi:. Clarke i"i 

Tm- 8 Rev. Mr. Jcoaoi L01 

Tn i I'.mii-i (in BOB WW 

v i ii'ii I-- Church 

Mi t RODIfi U « in "i:< it HO 

Joseph 111 \\ 1 11-' 

James Watson Bobbins, m i> 118 

.I'.s u it v\ Wiiirn i: 

Ki mi BkOB H '-' ■' 

: m r 1-1 

Thb Wood Family i '-'•*• 

Ironstone 

IfAXUVAOTOBIll 

[PTIOS "i OzBEIIX 

• \tr. Mi'Min K> "l i in I •:::•. • . 



VI. CONTENTS. 

Tin.; Taft Family 170 

The Public Schools 175 

Select Schools and Academies 189 

The Libraries in Uxbridge 197 

Banks in Uxbridge 202 

The Burying-Grounds 204 

List of Soldiers in the War against the Rebellion . . . 208 

Mrs. Margaret L. Bennett 213 



CORRIGENDA. 



h from the top 

from the bottom of page- <>mit t aft and nipply 

106, note i" Appendix. With \\ hat i- here said of the place of worship 
used l>> the 1 • ompare \\ hal i« -:ii'l of ilii« hall, "ii ; 

raph Inn one <>n the p 

110, line 10th from 1 1 »■ - bottom \;i«r home, place :i comma, 

Milium:: the M mi 

1 16, line ttli from the bottom of I 

i from the bottom ol 

the fourth name from the top, in the ii r-t column, should read, 



PREFA< l 



T\ the winter of 1863-4, Mr. Chapin was invited to 
deliver a lecture in Oxbridge, in the coarse riven for 
tin- benefit of tin- First Congregational Church. Il<- 
Belected 1 1 1 * - early history of the town, in which he took 
great interest, for his subject, and collected bo much 

valuable material in relating it, that boi f the public- 

spirited citizens felt it i<> be very desirable that 1 1 1 » * 
information thus obtained Bhould be preserved in ;t per- 
manent form, and requested him, some four years since, 
to lt i \ « • them his manuscript for publication. He consented, 
but wished io render it more valuable by the addition <>!' 
various details equally worthy of record, which would have 
made his lecture t«»» Long for delivery, and others that have 
since come to hi- knowledge. Bis illness and subsequent 
death prevented him from preparing the work for the press : 
and in the Bpring of l>7:> it was intrusted to me, and was 
immediately entered upon as :i sacred trust. The address 
as originally delivered, the aotes which Judge Chapin was 
engaged in preparing, and the titl<- page Ik- had written, 
are now presented t<> those specially interested in the 
matters here spoken of. 

I have endeavored, by carefully studying the add] 
to enter int«> the spirit in which it was written, .• m « 1 in this 

way to complete the aotes that were left, — ome <>i' them, 

•J 



X PKEFACE. 

in the nature of the case, in a very fragmentary state. I 
have lidded information about some matters not touched 
upon by Mr. Chapin, and I wish I could have done much 
more ; but the knowledge of some things very interesting 
to the town, as for instance a list of the men from 
Oxbridge who served in the armies of the Revolution, it 
was impossible to procure. 

Some of the information here given it has been difficult 
to obtain ; and my acknowledgments are here made to the 
several gentlemen who have assisted me : but my thanks are 
especially due to Charles A. Wheelock and Jonathan F. 
Southwick. 

Those who read this address will please remember that 
it is not a history of the town of Uxbridge they are 
reading, but memorabilia, and if its history should ever 
be written, I have no doubt the writer will duly appreciate 
the labor here expended. Much later information than 
that here given, and naturally finding a place in a history 
of the town, is, for obvious reasons, omitted. I recommend 
that with this address, the address of Judge Alphonso 
Taft, given at the Taft gathering in Uxbridge, August 12th, 
1874, be also read. 

Judge Chapin always retained a warm attachment, not 
only to his native town, Upton, but to the people of 
Oxbridge, where he began his professional life. His name 
I know is, and long may it be, a cherished and house- 
hold word among them. 

RUSHTON D. BURR. 

May, 1881. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



Henri Chapen was born in Upton, Mass., Ma) L3th, 1811. 
His parents possessed small means and !i«' had n<» early 
advantages beyond those common!) enjoyed by .-ill tli" 90ns 
of \'\v England. By the sudden death of his father, when 
he was fourteen years old, he was thrown :ilm<»-t wholly 
upon bis own resources, and decided t<> learn the carpen- 
ter's trade, bu1 became convinced after a i'<\\ months trial, 
tli.it lie had neither the Datura] aptitude oor the inclination 
for tli.it avocation. He now determined to apply himself to 
stud) and began at once to tit for college. He was grad- 
uated .it Brown University in \^'-'>~>. !!<■ then taught school 
in hi- oative town, afterwards studied I .- 1 \\ with the late 
Emor) Washburn and :it Cambridge, and on his admission 
to the bar in 1838 began to practice in Uxbridge. In 1846, 
In- removed to Worcester and became a partner of the late 
Rejoice Newton. Hi- practice at the bar was large and 
successful. He was distinguished for industry, faithfulness 
and accuracy in professional business, and lii- competent 
knowledge of the law, with his simple, direct and per- 
suasive style of address, gave him great success in tli«' trial 
of causes. In 1858, the courts of Probate and Insolvency, 
up to that time distinct, were united, :m<l Mr. Chapin was 
appointed t«> preside over the new court. His appointment 
gave great satisfaction :it the time and an experience 
twenty years onl) served i" confirm it- wisdom. During 
th.it period, probably . more than half the estates in Worcester 



xii BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH/ 

County passed under his jurisdiction, in one or the other 
side of his court, and he was brought into official relations 
with a larger number of persons in all conditions of life, 
than any other public officer of the county. His patience, 
fidelity and impartiality have been universally admitted, and 
his suavity of manner — the natural expression of a kindly 
heart — gave him a strong hold upon the affection as well as 
the respect and confidence of the people of the county. 

Though his political opinions were strongly held and 
expressed freely, in public and in private speech, Judge 
Chapin had little taste for political life. He represented the 
town of Uxbridge in the General Court of 1845, and was 
nominated for Congress in 1856 by the republican conven- 
tion, but declined the honor. He was elected mayor of 
AVorcester in 1849, and again in 1850, declining a third 
nomination, but accepted the office again in December, 1870, 
when he was chosen by the council to fill the vacancy caused 
by the death of Mayor Blake, but declined to be a candidate 
for the full term, and retired after a few months service, as 
soon as a successor could be provided by a popular election. 
He was chosen delegate to the constitutional convention in 
1853. In 1848, he was appointed by Governor Briggs 
Commissioner of Insolvency ; and in 1855, by Governor 
Gardner, commissioner under the "personal liberty law" 
of Massachusetts, designed for the protection of persons 
charged with being fugitive slaves. He was for many years 
a member of the State Board of Education and for fifteen 
years one of the Trustees of the Worcester Lunatic Hospital. 
His capacity for business caused his services to be required 
in connection with several institutions of the city. He was 
for many years president of the People's Fire Insurance 
Company, a director of the City National Bank, and viee- 
president of the AVoreestcr County Institution for Savings. 
He served as a director of the Providence and Worcester 
railroad about thirty years. 



BI< IOH \ilil< \I. BKETI li. Mil 

Judge Chapin's active benevolence found scope in many 
directions. 1 1 « - was always read} t<> <l<» a kind act, and 

next to doing g I directly, he liked to organize plan-- ami 

institutions bj which the oharit} of others might be com- 
bined with his own, and made more effectual through an 
orderly system of administration. The Old Men's Home of 
Worcester, recently incorporated, was one of the 
benevolent enterprises that he conceived an. I aided. In 
religious belief he was decidedlj a conservative Unitarian, 
and a devoted member of tin- Church of the Unity in 
Worcester, being for many years superintendent of it- 
Sunday School. Alter Ik 1 resigned the Buperintendency, he 
joined tin' Bible class of the school, and remained a 
member of it until hi- failing health prevented him from 
meeting with it. He was active in the denomination, and 
fur many years took a leading position in it. being twice 
elected Presidenl of the American Unitarian Association, 
ami was for four years a member of the Council of the 
National < lonference of Unitarian Church 

These numerous ami diverse employments illustrate the 
varied activity of his mind, the kindness <>t' hi- heart, tin' 
trust that In- inspired in all who came in contact with him. 
Another kind of service that was often required of him, and 
seldom declined, was public speaking on nil kinds <>t' 
ions. Ill- good nature, wit, ami an unfailing store of 
anecdotes, told with remarkable spirit and humor, ina.li' his 
impromptu speeches always acceptable. During tin- days 
of the anti-slavery agitation he spoke frequently ami effect- 
ively in behalf of the free-soil ami republican panic-: 
but after hi- acceptance <>t" a judicial office he thought 
it unbecoming t" take a conspicuous part in political 
control ersies. 

Three years before hi- death, he received the < i<irr- 
LL.D., from Bro* nUniversit} . 1.'. I. Judge < ha pin'- health 
lit'iran to tail in the summer "i 1>77, hut he continued t«» 



XIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

attend to the duties of his office, and perhaps longer than was 
prudent. He died Sunday afternoon, October 13th, 1878. 

After the services at the house, public services were 
held in the Church of the Unity, October 16th. The 
church was tilled by the representatives of the various 
bodies with which Judge Chapin had been associated, and 
by those who from far and near came to pay his memory 
their heartfelt respect. The services were conducted by the 
pastor, Rev. Mr. Blanchard, and Rev. Mr. Shippen, a 
fori nor pastor, and secretary of the American Unitarian 
Association. 

Mr. Chapin married October 8th, 1839, Sarah, daughter 
of Joseph Thayer, Esq., of Uxbridge. Mrs. Chapin died 
April 30th, 1869. Their only child, a son, died at the age 
of seven years and ten months. In 1871, May 23d, he 
married Louisa, a sister of his former wife, who, with their 
daughter, six years of age, survives him. 

The limits of this sketch of the life and character of 
Judge Chapin, necessarily prevent the insertion of the 
beautiful and honorable tributes paid to him by the City 
Government of Worcester and the American Antiquarian 
Society, at meetings held for this purpose, after his death. 
And for the same reason we are compelled to omit the 
equally appreciative resolutions passed by the Alumni of 
Brown University at their annual meeting; by the Worces- 
ter County Conference of Unitarian Churches; by the 
Boards of various Corporations; and by the Representa- 
tives of the Educational and Charitable Institutions in 
whose behalf Mr. Chapin had so long and so faithfully 
served, gratifying as it would be to introduce them all; but 
it seems specially becoming thai as the law was the chosen 
pursuit of his life, and so dear to him, that the slightest 
aspersion, cast, even in jest, upon the honor of the profes- 
sion, was always more indignantly repelled than any 
personal attack, a place should be found for the resolutions 



BI4 IOB si'iin \l. -M i< M. w 

j»:i". ,| < ». i«.Im r 7th, 1879, i»\ the Worcester Count} Bar at 
the first session of the Supreme Court, held after his 
decease. 

// /, Tli.it in the death of Henry Chapin, the Worces- 

ter Count) Bar realizes the loss of one of its members, who 
while engaged in the practice of his profession brought t<> it- 
duties the Better elements of an exalted professional probity 
and fidelity. Genial by nature, courteous and considerate 
in his intercourse with men, earnest in hi- devotion t<> the 
Bide he espoused, faithful t<» the interests of his clients, con- 
scientious in his relations with the courts, at times eloquent 
in his addresses and always painstaking in the preparation 
ami presentation <>f his cause, w iili a mind well balanced and 
abundant self-control, he furnished in his professional life tin- 
model "t" an admirable law) er. 

Mi- simple tastes, cordial manners and well cultivated 
mind enabled him to win a ><><i:il position of influence and 
respect which has rarelj been surpassed in ilii- community. 

In the official relations to which he was called bj the 
voluntar) suffrages of a grateful constituency, he carried 
with him an undivided devotion to the j nil • 1 i * • welfare. He 
possessed an :il>i'liii^r faith in the people and an especial 
confidence in the character and stability of the people of 
Worcester. In his inaugural address as Mayor in L871, he 
said, •• < >u r power is in our nun.'* 

He graced informal occasions with wit and eloquence, and 
in public exigencies bis bee and tongue were m power in 
promoting the welfare of the people. 

He was bj nature admirably fitted t<> till the office and 
perform the duties as Judge of the Probate Court. His 
patience was untiring, his sympathy unsimulated, his taste 
and strong common sense sufficed him in emergencies. The 
urbanity, courtesy, modest) :ui<l simple dignity with which 
he conducted the business of his court, won for him universal 
confidence and respect. His <>tli<i:il duties in his relations to 
the philanthropic and eleemosynar) institutions of the I 
monwealth were always scrupulously performed, and by his 
death they and the State are deprived <>f ••' faithful servant 
and ;i generous benefactor. 

\\ e regard the lit'- of I [enry < Ihapin as one of usefulness, 
honor and success. He was a bright example to youth, :i 



XVI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

pleasant companion to those of riper years, a useful citizen 
and a true man in the relations of social, professional and 
domestic life. 

Resolved, That the sympathy of the members of the Bar 
be extended to our deceased brother's family, and that these 
resolutions be presented to the Supreme Judicial Court and 
the Probate Court of said County with the request that they 
be entered upon the records. 

Mr. Justice Morton in receiving the resolutions referred to 
his association with Judge Chapin, when they were in col- 
lege together in 1835, speaking of the deceased as a promi- 
nent member of the literary society, that he then became 
interested in him and had watched his future life. He said 
he could with entire cordiality and intelligence endorse 
every word of the resolutions. Judge Chapin's record as a 
Judge of Probate extended farther than his own county and 
his example was felt throughout the State. It is seldom 
that you see on a bench three such gentlemen as those 
which the Probate Court of this county can boast. The 
examples of Barton, Thomas and Chapin will long be 
remembered. The resolutions were then ordered to be 
entered upon the records of the Court. 



A 1) I) i: ESS. 



A pigi 1:1. of speech, often appropriate and exp 
ive, represents one as being onl of his element; 
and many ;i man often realizes in his own 
experience the truth of the expression. In an 
when lecturing has become a kind of profession and 
men cultivate themselves for it with all the appli- 
ances which eloquence and literature can furnish, he 
who rashly enters the field is liable to learn that he 
had better never have made the attempt, and is apt 
t<» retire from it a wiser and perhaps a sadder man. 
I do not come before you in the capacity of a 
lecturer. In answer to invitations, t<> Bay the Least, 
</////, in an unguarded moment, I some 

encouragement to stand the draft, or furnish a 
substitute. No substitute having been procured, I 

It will be impossible to present to you what has 
been prepared for this occasion, without laying 
myself open to the charge of dealing t<>«» freely with 
the persona] pronoun of the first person singular. 
There are times in a man's life, when he has a right 



18 ADDRESS. 

to speak in the first or second person, and about 
himself or anybody else, as best suits his pleasure, 
or convenience. For instance, when one is holding 
sweet converse with parents, brothers, sisters, or 
friends, the rules of criticism are not apt to be 
applied very relentlessly, and he is allowed to say 
pretty much what he pleases, to talk as much and as 
long as he pleases, and to dress his ideas in the 
garb which suits them best. With this feeling, I 
come hither to-night, trusting that you will allow 
me to present to you the thoughts which have 
occurred to me upon subjects local in their character 
and have no special attraction for any person who 
does not feel a deep interest in the character and 
history of the town of Uxbridge. It would be far 
more easy to give you an hour filled with general 
ideas upon some of the popular and exciting subjects 
of the day; to talk about this gigantic rebellion, and 
the best method of putting it down, to discuss some 
of the questions which fill the hearts of the men and 
women of this generation, but I shall avoid them all. 
My apology is this: when I reflect upon the last 
twenty-five years, and call to mind those with whom 
it has been my lot to hold pleasant intercourse, it is 
a source of deep regret that I have not treasured up, 
and put into some tangible form, many facts of a 
local and interesting character, now forever buried 
in the dark ocean of the past. If by the crude and 



VDDI 



19 



desultory effort of this evening, I can make any 
reparation for past neglect, or pay any pari of the 
debt of gratitude I owe to this section of the county, 
the labor <>r preparation will nol have been Bpenl in 

vain. 

1 need not say to you, thai this town combines 
much natural beauty of ■cenery and was once a fair 
specimen of a New England fanning town. The 
younger Bezaleel Taft used to Bay, " 1 do nol place 
l >ridge in the first class of fanning towns in the 
county, bul it stands among the firsl of the second 
class." 

The territory now included within the limits of 
Uxbridge and Nbrthbridge was originally a pari of 
Mendon, and was Bet off from the parenl town June 
l!7th. 17J7, under the name ofUxbridge.* This part 
of Mendon was called by the Indian- who early 
inhabited it Wacantug.f It is -aid, these [ndians 
had Indian teachers among them t<> instruct them in 
the principals of the Christian religion. 

The first town meeting of Oxbridge was held 

July 25th, L727, one hundred and thirty-six years 

lasl July. The members <•! the firsl board of 

Imeuwi e Robert Taft, Ebenezer Read,Wood- 



iii-IiiIh r Ol 



20 ADDRESS. 

land Thompson and Joseph White. The first town 
clerk was Edmund Rawson. The town remained 
in the form in which it was originally organized, 
until Northbridge was set off as a separate town in 
the year 1772. The fact that these two towns were 
originally one municipality explains the reason why, 
until a period comparatively recent, their annual 
March meetings were held upon different days of 
the week, one being held on Monday and the other 
on Wednesday. Those who had been in the habit of 
meeting together on this occasion, talking politics, 
swapping oxen, drinking flip, or doing something 
more useful, by mutual consent made this convenient 
and satisfactory arrangement, in order to enable 
them to continue the same, or similar acts of 
kindness and good neighborhood. 

It is interesting to examine the early records of 
the town, and observe the prevalence of certain 
names which seem to have come down like heir- 
looms from generation to generation. For instance, 
take the name of Taft. I have had the curiosity 
to observe casually how often this name appears in 
the list of town officers. In 1741, 1742 and 1743, 
it appears six times in the list of town officers for 
each year, and in the year 1775 it appears sixteen 
times. One is reminded of the old story of the 
stranger in Uxbridge, who, meeting a gentleman 
whom he had never seen before, exclaimed, " How 



\M-I.1 - L'l 

;uv \oii Mr. Taft ? n "How <li»l von know mv 
name waa Taft?' 1 waa the answer. u W i II." said 
he, " I have spoken to twelve persona Bince I came 
into this town; eleven of them answered to 1 1 10 
name of Taft, and 1 concluded it would be safe t<> 
address you by thai nam* ." 
The town clerks of this town have been: — 

Edmund Rawson, IT'JT — 176 

John Sibley, 1753 — 1767. 

Moses Taft, 1767—1766. 

John Sibley, 17<>*1— 177:;. 

- 

Simeon Wneelock, Jr., 177i) — 1777. 
- I. Read, 1777— 177-. 
B< zaleel Taft, L778— 1782. 
Josiah Read, L782— 1783. 
I;, zaleel Taft, 1783—1784. 
Aaron Taft, Jr., L784— 1799. 
Frederic Taft, L799— 180*. 
John Capron, 1801—1821. 
Daniel Carpenter, L821— 1844. 
Amariah Taft, L844— 1855. 
vTiliam \V. Thayer, 1866—1866. 
Henry Capron, 1856 — the presenl time.* 
Ton will observe that generally the town has 
adopted a wise course in reference to numerous 



•II' • ii i l< rh for i \\ IHTfl. 

■Ik] H n. n h< > ln'I'l- il 

Urn . 



22 ADDRESS. 

and successive elections of the same town clerk, 
and in this way has secured far more uniformity 
and accuracy in the town records, than would have 
resulted from more frequent changes in the record- 
ing officer of the town. 

The people of the town, according to the early 
records, had an eye to their own interests and were 
quite distinct and emphatic in their expressions in 
regard to them. They had their own views of 
matters and things, and stated them quite unequivo- 
cally. Soon after the separation from Mendon, we 
find their loyalty to the parent town illustrated by 
the following vote: — 

" Voted, About Worcester's being a sheir town, that 
unless MendoD be made a sheir town as Worcester, to hold 
half y' county courts at, they had rather remain as now, in 
the county of Suffolk." 

When I first read the record of this vote, I was 
struck with the statement, implying that Uxbridge 
was once a part of the county of Suffolk. Upon 
exa mi nation I find, that down to the time of the 
creation of Worcester county, this territory was 
embraced within the limits of the county of Suffolk. 
From the tenor of the vote, we may naturally 
infer that the question of a new county was 
discussed as early as 1728, and the people of 
Uxbridge thought lit to express their opinion in 
the form already stated. 



kDDBl 

The wli<»ic territory of Massachusetts In L643 
was divided into four countii I being the 

eastern, Middlesex in the middle, Suffolk in the 
southern and (<)ld) Norfolk in the northern part. 
Hampshire county was created in 1662. K 
county, embracing all of Old Norfolk which bad 
n«>t been Bel off i" Nev< Hampshire, was created in 
Plymouth, Barnstable and Bristol counties 
i ated in L685. Wnen the islands "1* Nan- 
tucket and Martha's Vineyard were transferred 
from N<\\ fork to Massachusetts, they constituted 
Dukes county, from which Nantucket was set off 
as a separate county in 1695. Worcester county 
was created in 1730, just two years after the vote 
referred to. Berkshire in 1761, Hampden in 1811, 
and Franklin in L812. 

For nearly one hundred years after its organiza- 
tion, [Jxbridge remained simply an agricultural 
town w'nh the usual amount of such mechanical 
business as was carried on in the rural towns of 
N«\\ England. Winn we examine its records and 
traditions, we find manj of the same proceedings 

which were con n in towns of similar character 

and |><>«.'iti<>ii during that period. The location of 
roads, the building of bridges, the care ■>{' the 

schools, tli*- Bupport of the | r, and the thousand- 

and-one municipal matters, either more or less 
important, were voted upon and acted upon from 



24 



ADDRESS. 



year to year, in a manner that fills one with a feel- 
ing of deep respect for the care and fidelity with 
which the men of that day performed their muni- 
cipal duties, and with a feeling of wonder and 
astonishment at the cheapness and economy with 
which they carried them on. In 1728, they allowed 
Mr. Solomon "Wood, for services as town treasurer 
one year, five shillings, and at the same time allowed 
Lieut. Joseph Taft seven shillings for a barrel of 
cider. Truly, apples must have been scarce in 
1728 in the territory of Wacantug. In 1735, the 
town voted to raise twenty pounds to defray the 
town expenses this year. In 1731, Mr. Edmund 
Rawson was allowed twenty pounds for keeping 
school six months and boarding himself. In 1731, 
the town sold their stock of ammunition to help 
defray town expenses. In the same year it was 
voted, that " We will make choice of a man to go 
on y e town's behalf to see about letting y e fish 
come up y e great river in case other towns should 
send to Providence to joyn with them in agreeing 
to have y e fish let up y e great river at Jenckes 
falls." 

From the year 1775, during the revolutionary 
war, we find that the fires of patriotism burned 
here brightly and steadily. Although they voted 
that inoculation for the small-pox should not be 
set u]) in Oxbridge, the people showed, not only 



LDDRE88. 25 

thai they were not afraid of Great Britain, but that 
thej were willing to contribute their lull Bhare 
i"w ardfl the prosecutioD of the \\ ar« 

At the meeting In May, 1 T "7 « *» , in the spring 
previous i" tin- declaration of independence, an 
article of which the following is a copj was a 
apon: "To Bee if the town will vote if the honora- 
ble Congress Bhould, for the safety of the United 
State- colonies, declare themselves independent 
of the kingdom of Great Britain, whether that 
they will solemnly engage with their lives and 
fortunes to Bupport them in the measure.' 1 Have 
yon any question how they voted? Of course they 
voted in the affirmative. This is not all. In L778, 
the town voted "to pay one quarter more than the 
County rate for 1777." and although an attempt 
was made at a subsequent meeting to defeat it. or 
rescind it, the attempt Bignally failed. In the same 
the town voted to raise a committee to procure 
clothing for the soldiers, and a man to carry it to 
them. This, you will bear in mind, took place long 
before any public conveyance was established in 
this vicinity, and when a journey to and from 
different sections of the country, was a formidable 
undertaking in labor and endurance. Prices having 
been much increased by reason of the war, the 
town also voted "to pay one-half of the minister's 
salary in products and labor at the same prices 



26 ADDRESS. 

at which they were furnished at the time of his 
settlement." What a splendid arrangement it 
would be now for a minister, or any one else, who 
is dependent upon a salary, if a similar spirit of 
liberality could be exercised towards him, at a time 
when coal is fourteen dollars a ton, and all the 
other necessaries of life are proportionally as 
expensive. A word to the wise is of course 
sufficient. 

In the early histories of the towns of New Eng- 
land, we are struck with the attention which was 
given to the matter of public worship. The people 
of this town were of the old puritan stock, and the 
puritans, whether sincere or not, were always 
marked by their care for the institutions of religion. 
One of the earliest votes of the new town in 1727, 
was that they would maintain public preaching by 
way of rate, and " would build a meeting house 
forty feet in length, thirty-five feet in breadth and 
nineteen feet between joynts." In 1752 it was 
voted to pay £18 to Mr. "Webb for his salary, and 
see whether he has been honorably maintained 
according to the agreement with him. In 1773 
immediately after Korthbridge was set off, the town 
voted to remove the old meeting-house, if it could 
be, and that the new one be set in the same place. 
If I am not mistaken, what is spoken of as the old 
meeting-house was the one which stood upon the 



ADDRESS. 27 

common until after the year 1830, and was the one 
where all sorts of meetings from time to time were 
held. If any one here has any curiosity to know 
more of the common and the location of that 
meeting-house, which stood upon the hill near 
where Mr. Hayward's house is situated, he will find 
under vote of May 11th, 1797, a copy of an agree- 
ment signed by Bezaleel Taft, John Capron, Silas 
Rawson and Robert G. Tillinghast, selectmen of 
Uxbridge, and John Capron, Elihu Brown and 
Samuel Willard, parties adjoining the common, 
fixing the several lines and boundaries of the 
same.* He will also find annexed thereto a plan 
of the common, which is quite curious and interest- 
ing. The lines and their bearings are given, there 
is a drawing of the meeting-house, the house for- 
merly occupied by Dr. Samuel Willard with its 
gambrel roof, a building which I suppose to be the 
old hotel, the horse-sheds, the house formerly occu- 
pied by Elihu BroAvn, now Mr. Jepherson's, and the 
old school-house. In addition to these, is a draw- 
ing (not a photograph) of the surveyor with his 
instrument. I scarcely recognize the features, but 
my opinion is that the surveyor was Frederic Taft. 



* The following vote, with date of March 5th, 1794, appeal's : " Voted to 
choose a committee to see all the incumbrances removed off the common, thai 
lies about the town's meeting-house." Nicholas Baylies, Asa Thayer and 
Samuel Taft were chosen a committee for the purpose. 



28 ADDRESS. 

Compare that sketch taken in 1797, with Uxbridge 
as it is in 1864, and you will be able to form a 
pretty clear idea of the growth of this village 
within the last seventy years. 

As a fact tending to show the manners and 
customs of men with a puritan education, at the 
time of the raising of the first meeting-house in 
Uxbridge, in 1730, it became the duty of an 
appropriate committee to purchase fifteen gallons 
of rum. One can hardly help asking himself, what 
raisings wouldn't there be now, if there should be 
procured and distributed on such an occasion fifteen 
gallons of what we call rum at the present day. 
It is probably true, that if the quality of the liquors 
of that time had been as poor as it is now, and 
raisings had been characterized by the purchase 
and distribution of such material, there would at 
the present time have existed few descendants of 
the men of 1730 to listen to any S23eaker upon an 
occasion like this. 

The first settled minister in Uxbridge was the 
Rev. Nathan Webb. He was settled February 
3d, 1731. He died March 16th, 1772, after a 
ministry of over forty years and in the same year 
in which Northbridge was set off as a separate 
town. All that can be learned about him tends to 
the conviction, that he was a faithful preacher, an 
earnest, true-hearted man, and that he exerted a 



ADDRESS. 

beneficial influence npon the minds and hear! 
the people. I have in nn possession one of his 
written sermons which shows deep religious feeling, 
! Bense, clearness of style, and tends to convince 
me that he was i Bound thinker and good writer. 
He was a man of good temper and genial humor. 
He used t«» tell, with much merriment, the follow- 
ing anecdote. A couple came t<» him t<» be married. 
Having tied the knot, he was inquired of bj the 
happy groom aboul hi- terms. Mi - . Webb told him 
that he generally lefl the compensation t«> the 
parties. The bridegroom handed him four coppers, 
and with hi- bride left the house of the parson. 
Mr. W'lhl) enjoyed it bo much that In- could not 
keep it t<> himself, ami the story reached the ears of 
the generous party. Meeting Mi'. Webb, he told 
him if In- was not satisfied, he would make him 
satisfied, and handed him another copper. Mi - . 
\\ i Mi always said he was satisfied. 

The second settled minister was the Rev. Heze- 
kiah Chapman, who was settled January 27th, 
177 I. and was dismissed April 5th, L781. In L778, 
Mr. Chapman asked for a dismission, bul the t<>\\n 
1 to pay one-half of hi- -alary in any of the 
produce of their farms al tin- price which was 
current for tin 1 Bame articles at the time of his 
settlement in tin' ministry of the town, or, in labor 
at the price which labor was worth at the same 



30 ADDRESS. 

time. In April, 1781, we find the entries of which 
the following is a copy: — 

" At a meeting of the church in Uxbridge, April 5th, 1781. 
Whereas, the liev. Hezekiah Chapman, the pastor of this 
church, some time since signified to us his desire of a dis- 
mission from his pastoral relation to this church and congre- 
gation on account of the languishing state of his health. The 
church having maturely considered the reason he was pleased 
to assign for his dismission, and previously consulted with 
the congregation, voted unanimously, that a dismission be 
granted Mr. Chapman agreeable to his request." 

Mr. Chapman's reply is as follows: — 

' ' Mr. Chapman being dismissed from his ministerial rela- 
tion to the church in Uxbridge, feels himself in justice bound 
to declare, that they have treated him with tenderness and 
respect, and that it is with reluctance that he leaves them. 
The care of his health, which for years has been languishing, 
obliges him to leave such worthy and valuable friends. He 
wishes them prosperity, and shall never cease to rejoice in 
their welfare." 

The real reason for Mr. Chapman's leaving does 
not appear in the foregoing copies. It is a sad 
fact, that the real cause of his leaving Uxbridge 
was intemperance. After his dismission, he left 
the town and his wife remained for some time 
alone. She was obliged to sell sundry articles of 
household furniture to procure the necessaries of 
life, and some of the furniture, after a lapse of 
seventy-five years, may be seen in this town in a 
good state of preservation. 

The third settled minister was the Rev. Josiah 
Spaulding, who was settled September 11th, 1783, 



\M>l:l - 31 

ami was dismissed ( I r 27th, 1787. It baa been 

written and printed, t hat both Mr. Chapman and 

Mr. Spaulding were dismissed •«• on account of 

the peculiarity <>l" their religions sentiments than 
from any other cause. In m_\ opinion this state- 
ment Lb n»»t a correct one, about one of them at 
least. Mr. Spaulding was unmarried. He was 
distinguished by a remarkable fondness for the 
Proverbs of Solomon. In the Bible which he was 
in the habit <>(' reading, the Book of Proverbs 
Boiled and worn, that one could readily 
discern the locality of his favorite reading by the 
appearance of the well thumbed pages, that were 
subjected to his frequent perusal. It appears that 
in 1787, a vote of the town was passed and sent to 
Mr. Spaulding, advising him to ask a dismission, 

and the action of the church and an ecclesiastical 

council is contained in a certain rote of which the 

f<»ll<>\\ ing is a copy: — 

•• Uxbridge, Sept. 10th, 1787. A.t a Chh. meeting regu- 
larly warned :it the Meetinghouse: After reading a \<>n> 
-•Hi to our Rev. Pastor from this Town, or Congregational 
Society, in which he was advised t « » ask a dismission from 
nd after some conversation, the question being put t<> 
see it' this < Ihh. will join « itli their Pastor in calling a mutual 
Council of Pastors and Churches t<> advise upon the expe- 
diency of his being dismissed or not — The \ *ed in the 
affirmath e. 

I . again, that n<>tliinL r ahall be laid before the Council 
except what ia first laid before the Chh. and their voice had 
upon it. it' tlir\ see fit, and that 1 I days before the <'<'iin«il 
Bit." 



32 ADDRESS. 

(In Council.) 

The Church gave the Rev. Mr. Spaulding the 
following recommendation : — 

" Whereas, Rev. Mr. Josiah Spaulding is dismissed from 
us as to his pastoral relation, and as he has requested a dis- 
mission from his membership from this Chh. and a recom- 
mendation to the communition and fellowship of the Chh. 
of Christ wherever God in his providence shall call him : 
this is therefore a testimony that he is a brother in good and 
regular standing ; and in consequence of his request, we do 
dismiss him from particular membership in this Chh. and do 
recommend him to the Chh. of Christ, wherever God in his 
providence shall call him, as a brother in good and regular 
standing. This vote passed y e Presence of the Council and 
was signed by the Moderator at the request of the Chh. 

AMARIAH FEOST, 

Moderator." 

(In the result.) 

' ' The Council feel it incumbent on them to declare that 
they view Mr. Spaulding's christian character in a fair and 
amiable light, and cannot but hope Christ will still use him 
as an instrument of spreading his Gospel, and promoting his 
cause in the world. And accordingly we recommend him 
as a preacher of the Gospel." 

Mr. Spaulding was afterwards settled in Worth- 
ington, Mass. It would be pleasant to know the 
reason why the town saw fit to pass the vote 
referred to, but I have not been able to ascertain 
any of the facts relating to the same.* 



* AfiiT the dismissal of Mr. Spaulding, Mr. Samuel Mead preached for some 
time in Oxbridge, and in December 1791, the town voted "to concur with 
the church in giving Mr. .Mead a call to be settled over them in the ministry," 
also, •• Yoi in £100 as an encouragement to settle, and £90 per annum salary." 
No answer appears on the records to the foregoing votes. 



IDDRESS. 

The fourth settled minister was th< B Samuel 
Judson, who was settled October 17th, L792, and 
dismissed in L832. In the language of the epitaph 
upon his tombstone, M He was for forty years the 
faithful and beloved pastor of the church of Christ 
in Oxbridge, where, after a life of purity and 
benevolence, he died in the faith and hope of the 
gospel, NTov. Llth, A. D. L832, aged 65." I find 
that he was born in Woodbury, Conn., December 
7th, 1767. Be married Miss Sally Bartletf of 
Salt-in, M.i\ 28th, 17'.»7. II- was a man <>!' remark- 
able conscientiousness, rare good nature, much 
native common sense, and during his long ministry 
he retained the love and confidence of the people 
of his charge.* 



M •. .itiii-'>n wai unanimous, and w mied by the 

: Judxon £300, proi Ided b 
•half i" !>• paid in one >• :ir from 
tli-' time be i- ordained, the other half I dination, •••. 

r> . n 
• >iir iiiini-i'T." 
In relation to 1 1 » • ■ in f the Firwt - ty, the 

- ..ii the record, Apr 
I ! iii the 

I tow ii*- i ■■ii-. nt f>>r their being 
..f tli. ir | Mini' nt 

they shall i I f"r and Nupjrai 

i 
for t'-w n-m 
ken down for the purpo«c ><( bu church in I 

buret) "f • 

nry I - 



34 ADDRESS. 

At the dismissal of Mr. Judson, the elements 
of religious opinion came to an open rupture, and 
those who had united under his ministrations, 
formed themselves into separate societies, according 
to mixed motives of personal feelings, or religious 
principles, and the two houses for religious wor- 
ship, which now stand upon opposite sides of the 
common were erected, and the members of the two 
societies, who unitedly paid Mr. Judson a salary of 
$400 a year, settled the Rev. David A. Grosvenor, 
at a salary of $ 600, and the Rev. Samuel Clarke, at 
a salary of $600 ; and from that time to the present 
both societies have been reasonably prosperous: 
and after the first few years following the separa- 
tion, with few exceptions, the most kindly feeling 
has prevailed between the members of the different 
societies. I do not propose to follow the histories 
of these two religious societies since the time of 
their separation, but knowing as I did both Mr. 
Grosvenor and Mr. Clarke, under circumstances 
which furnished good opportunities for forming an 
impartial judgment, I am free to say, they were 
both true and earnest exponents of their different 
views of theology; both were men of more than 
ordinary talent, good citizens, good friends, and, as 



was thoroughly repaired iu 1864, at a cost of about §4,500; and again in 1878, 
at a cost of some $4,000. 

The house of the Evangelical Congregational Society was built the same 
year, 1833, and dedicated in the autumn. It was repaired some seventeen years 
ago and much improved. 



4DDBJ 18. 

it appeared to me, sincere Christians and honest 
men. 

Rev. Samuel Clarke, the bod of Ninian Clarke 
of Scotch ancestry, "an extraordinary man, of large 
sympathies, a noble spirit and trusted by every 
one," was born in N<-\\ Boston, N. EL, April i'l>t, 
L791. He fitted forcollege with the Rev. Mr. Beede 
of Wilton, and was graduated at Dartmouth Col- 
in tin' class of L812. II«- studied theology 
with Dr. Channing, and was ordained at Princeton 
in Worcester County, June 18th, HIT. He married 
Miss Sarah Wigglesworth, of Newburyport, Sep- 
tember, L819. On January 9th, L833, he was 
installed over the First Congregational Society in 
[Jzbridge, and his connection was not severed 
during his life. He died in Worcester, Saturday 
morning, November 19th, 1859, and was buried at 
Oxbridge on Tuesday, November 22d. The ser- 
vices at the meeting-house of the First Congri 
tional Society were as follows: reading of the 
Scriptures by Rev. Mr. Ferryj remarks bj Rev. 
M jsrs. Hill of Worcester, Boyden <>!* Woonsocket 
and Ball of Upton; and a prayer 1>\ Rev. Mr. 
Shippen of Worcester. The services were appro- 
priate ami impressive. The funeral was attended by 
a large concourse of people of tin- various religious 

ieties. The business of the village was sus- 
pended, the Btores were closed; and, although the 



36 ADDRESS. 

day was stormy, the whole community seemed to 
wish to pay their last tribute of respect to the 
memory of a good man and truly Christian minister. 
It was well remarked by one of the company at the 
grave, "There lies a man who was more beloved 
than any other man in the town of Uxbridge." 

When a good man passes away, it is well to 
review his life, and learn the true qualities of his 
character. The ministry of Mr. Clarke extended 
over a period of forty-two years ; fifteen of which 
were passed in Princeton, and twenty-seven in 
Uxbridge. It having been the privilege of the 
writer, during a portion of the time, to listen to the 
religious exercises of Mr. Clarke from week to week, 
to meet him almost daily in the intercourse of life, 
to confer with him in scenes of joy and sorrow, to 
witness his spirit under circumstances of peculiar 
trial and anxiety, he feels at liberty to offer his 
grateful tribute to his memory. There existed in 
him a beauty and consistency of character rarely 
witnessed. He was a true friend. To all who knew 
him his presence seemed a benediction. But, in the 
familiar intercourse of life, we were often surprised 
by the gushing out of emotions and sympathies, 
which a stranger, who had only witnessed the calm 
dignity of his deportment, would scarcely have 
expected. A man of rare modesty, great self- 
denial, imperturbable good nature, excellent gifts, 



ADDKJ 98. 

large culture and unflinching fidelity t«> duty, he 
wtiii iii and <>ut before u- during twenty-seven 
years; and, eloquent and appropriate as were his 
religious exercises, hie life was one of the riches! 
legacies which he bequeathed t<> win us to a higher 
life, bj the living power of a purr Christian exam- 
ple. Blest during the greater portion of lii- minis- 
terial life with ilif companionship of a wife of rare 

mplishments, combined with large common - 
and devoted Christian principles, he always found 
his home a happ) one, where he ever met ready 
Bympathy, kind words, and heart] co-operation. No 
ni.iii in ilit- community fulfilled his dun more faith- 
fully. The poor, the Bick and the anfortunate 
always found in him a friend; and his labors in the 
cause of education and good order are held in 
grateful remembrance. Although he was far from 
robust, and exhibited for a number of years 
symptoms of declining health, hi- religious exer* 
-criiicd to increase in excellence from year to year, 
and the genuine beauty <>l' his character became more 
and more apparent. Qe labored faithfully until a 
Sunday in the July preceding his death, w hen, in the 
performance of his usual duties, exhausted nature 
gave way, and he fell to the floor of his pulpit in a 
tainting condition. Feeling thai lii- work was done, 

-it in a letter resigning hie and requesl 

the Society to accept his resignation, — a request 



38 ADDRESS. 

which, to their honor, they promptly declined ; not 
only voting to supply the pulpit, but to continue the 
salary of Mr. Clarke. From that time, although the 
seal of coming death was on his brow, it brought no 
terrors and the kindly voice and beaming smile 
seemed to speak of a heaven within. 

Again he met his church at the communion table, 
distributed to them the symbols, and, in language 
which those who heard him can never forget, he 
commended them to God, committed all to His 
hands, and bade them farewell with the hope, that, 
if it was God's will, they might meet again this side 
of the grave, but be fully prepared for whatever in 
God's providence was in store for him. Another 
meeting in life was not vouchsafed to them. While 
the tones of his parting farewell seemed yet to 
linger in our ears, we were startled by the an- 
nouncement that the beloved and faithful pastor had 
quietly dropped to sleep "like one who wraps the 
drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to 
pleasant dreams."* 

There has long been a society of Friends, or 
Quakers, in this town; but their faith has been so 
internal and undemonstrative, that there is but little 
on an occasion like this to say of them. We all 
know that this denomination of Christians early 



Appendix I. for an account of the successors to Rev. Mr. Clarke 
ami Kr\. Mr. Grosvenor. 



ADDRESS. 

adopted firm ami decided views upon the g 
questions of slavery, intemperance and the prevail- 
ing evils of Bociety; bnl their style of enforcing 
their views has been bo quiet and unobtrusive, that 
we hard!? realize thai many of these questions, 
which seem to some of as bo new, are, to the mem- 

- of this denomination, as old as the plain bonnet 
and the straight collared coat: and these questions 
have been ><> well considered by them, that their 
opinions about them Beem to them as natural and 
as much a thins of course as the air they breathe. 

There is a Baptist Bocietyin the north part of the 
town, but it- historj is bo moaern that I leave it 
with the statement of the Tact of it- existence, 
although it would be pleasant to refer to Borne of its 
preachers and to it- more prominent and influential 
members, among whom was the late Dea. David D. 
Payne.* 

Within a few years past you have found estab- 
lished here a Roman Catholic Church] but of this 
y<»u must know bo much more than I. that I content 
myself with the mere recognition of a circumstance 
whirh would have Beemed bo Btrangef twenty years 
With these remarks I leave the ecclesiastical 
history of the town,} and refer to some other events 
in its history . 



odix II., Baptist Church. - ndlx III., Roman < 

Church. I >< ■ Appcndl c IV., Mel ireh. 



40 ADDRESS. 

In the month of November, 1789, Gen. George 
Washington, then President of the United States, 
passed a night in Uxbridge, at a tavern, kept, in his 
language, by " one Taft." I need not tell you where 
what was then the tavern, is now situated,* nor who 
occupies it. I need not express the hope that the 
building may long be spared as an object of patriot- 
ism in trust. From Hartford, General Washington 
wrote on the eighth of November, 1789, on his way 
home, the following letter to "Mr. Taft, near 
Uxbridge, Massachusetts " : — 

i i gir : — Being informed that you have given my name to 
one of your sons, and called another after Mrs. Washington's 
family, and being moreover much pleased with the modest 
and innocent looks of your two daughters, Patty and Polly, 
I do, for these reasons, send each of these girls a piece of 
chintz ; and to Patty, who bears the name of Mrs. Washing- 
ton, and who waited upon us more than Polly did, I send 
five guineas with which she may buy herself any little orna- 
ments she may want, or she may dispose of them in any 
other manner more agreeable to herself. As I do not give 
these things with a view to have it talked of, or even to its 
being known, the less there is said about the matter, the 
better you will please me ; but that I may be sure the chintz 
and money have got safe to hand, let Patty, who, I dare say, 
is equal to it, write me a line informing me thereof, directed 
to < The President of the United States, New York.' I wish 
you and your family well, and am your humble servant." 

There is a circumstance, related to me by a ven- 
erable clergyman a few weeks since, which may be 
interesting to you. General Washington called at 



*The house now occupied by Mr. Warner Taft. The daughter Polly, men- 
tioned in the letter, married Joseph H. Perry, of Milford. 



IDDU1 II 

the house of Col. Ammidown in Mendon, whom he 
had known in the Revolutionary Army, but not 
finding him al home, passed <>n bis wa) to Uxbridg< . 
Soon niter he had retired, Col. Ammidown, accom- 
panied by lii-. daughter, arrived, l>"tli being verj 
anxious to see the President. To the Burprise of 
his attendants, he arose and, attired in hi-> dressing- 
gown, had ;i verj pleasanl interview with his <>ld 
friend and the daughter. At the close of the inter- 
view, Baid the General to Miss Ammidown, "Allow 
me i" ask vou one question; you have come b good 
ways to Bee an <>ld man, h<»\\ far would you have 
gone i" Bee a j oung one?" 

Col. Samuel Cragin was a Boldier in the <»ld 
French war, was present at the rapture of Quebec, 
ami was a captain in the war «>f the Revolution. 
II< once kept a hotel in the house m»w occupied 1>\ 
Mr. Charles E. S< aprave, and afterwards in the 
large gambrel-roofed bouse, known as the John 
Capron house. This house was built 1»\ Col. Set h 
1 1 d, who once owned the most of the real estate in 
tlii-> village. The oft-asserted claim of Reed Par- 
sons to a title in the cninnn.ii had its origin in some 
w a\ connected with the ownership of Col. Seth Reed. 

The first Btore in Uxbridge waskept bj George 
Southwick in the Bouth part of the town; and the 
Becond, bj a Mr. Russell in a building opposite to 
what was formerly known as the John Seagrave 



42 ADDRESS. 

place, and was afterwards owned and occupied by 
Daniel Seagrave. As an illustration of the change 
in the places, and modes of doing business in this 
town, permit me to refer you to one spot, about 
which but few young people know anything. On the 
old road to Slatersville, you may observe a cluster 
of wood-colored buildings of small dimensions that 
now bear the marks of neglect, and you may wonder 
what should have caused them to be erected. The 
truth is, this comparatively deserted spot was once 
among the most active and business-like localities 
of Uxbridge. Here Esek Fitts carried on the busi- 
ness of manufacturing hats, with numerous journey- 
men and apprentices; Royal Southwick, tanning 
and currying; Enoch Aldrich, coopering; Parley 
Brown and Mason Buffington, shoe-making; and 
here George Southwick did the most extensive 
business in the store-keeping line which in those 
days was carried on in this section of the county, 
and manufactured large quantities of potash which 
he exported to England, besides keeping a circulating 
library for the neighborhood. The change in the 
lines of travel and the use of rivers for manufac- 
turing purposes, changed the places of trade and 
of business, and grass now grows where once 
everything was alive with the bustle of trade and 
industry. Allow me in this connection to relate an 
incident somewhat characteristic of the times. A 



\l»l>l : 






person Known as "Old Croney," had paid a l»ill t<» 
Geor S mthwick, and after he had arrived at his 
home, he found, or there was Bhown to him upon 
the bill, a large Dumber of " ditt< He told 

Dr. Samuel Willard, who was rather fond <>l" fun, 
thai he had had no dittoes, and the Doctor told him 
he had better go back and have the bill corrected. 
Cronej called upon George Southwick and Btated 
his grievance. Said George, u Whosenl you here?P 
SaidCroney, - Dr. Will.-ml." •• Well^said G 

•• you i«'ll Dr. Sam. Willard thai In- is a <1 n fool 

and \ on are a ditto! " 

The firsl distillery in town was established by 
( Jol. I taniel Tillinghast, upon whal has recentlj been 
known as the Royal Thayer place. II«' manufac- 
tured mall in the building on the corner of the old 
road, which was afterwards converted into a resi- 
dence l>\ Mr. John Seagrave. The second distiller} 
was owned by Thaddeus Taft, and was located 
upon what i- now the farm of Mr. John S. Taft. 
Thej manufactured gin and cider brandy. In the 
year L820, the remains of the distillery of Col. 
Tillinghasl were visible upon the Royal Thayer 
place, and the | > 1 1 • » • — showed a form of construction 
which gave the observer a verj <li-tin<-t idea of the 

worm of B Still. 

The first Postmaster in Qxbridge was Dr. Sam- 
uel Willard. The firsl post-office was kept at 



44 ADDRESS. 

North Uxbridge by Capt. Samuel Read, the Deputy- 
Postmaster. All the travel from Boston to Hart- 
ford and back, passing through this town, passed 
through the northern part, at the time of the estab- 
lishment of the post-office. 

Here it may be proper to say, that there is one 
peculiarity of this town that must be considered un- 
fortunate. It has always seemed to me to have 
more south-west to it, than any other town of its 
size with which I am acquainted. This is probably 
owing to the fact that Northbridge was originally 
part of its territory. At any rate, the fact is a 
notable one to any person who is either acquainted 
with its geography, or has had occasion to look up 
a client who was reported to reside in the south-west 
part of the town. I well remember the remark of 
one of your citizens at the time of the dispute about 
the Rhode Island boundary line, which was, that 
he hoped the line would be removed because it 
ran so near his house that he thought it was de- 
moralizing. I do not know that I should assent to 
this proposition, but I do think, that the nearer to 
the line of a border town you can bring its educa- 
tional, moral and religious institutions, the better it 
will be for the moral, educational and religious wel- 
fare of the immediate neighborhood. 

The mail from Boston to Hartford, sixty years 
ago, was carried weekly to and from Boston in a 



\l'M;l 98. 

one-horse erifif. 1>\ a man of the name of Steele. A; 
thai time, there was no mail from Providence t" 
\\ "cester. It is said thai the firsl ride through the 
Blackstone valley \\ :i - made by William Blackstone 
mi the back of a boll. Professor Gammell has 
playfully remarked, that this was the origin of the 
term, " BuHgine." Sometime between fifty and 
-i\i\ years ago, the first mail from Providence i" 
Worcester was carried bv Aimer Cooper, who 
resided in Northbridge. He used to •_:'" t<> Provi- 
dence "ii one <lay. return t<» Northbridge on the 
in! dav. go t<> Worcester ami return t<> his home 
in Northbridge on the third day. He traveled at 
first «'ii horseback, next in a one-horse gig, and 
finally in a two-horse vehicle, and carried passen- 
gers, who used frequently i" stop at hi- house over 
night. It i- said that he carried hi- oats with him, 
an«l -topped by the roadside t-» feed hi- horses. 
It is to be feared that Ne^i England passengers 
the present day might be somewhat impatient with 
this kind of locomotion. 

Tlie first stage upon tin- route 9 iblished bj 

• •tie Henry Richardson in 1812. He drove through 
from Pros idence t«» Worcester in one da\ . and back 
the next. Although h<- succeeded in depriving Mi-. 
< >perofhis passengers, he tailed in hi- enterprise. 
Mr. Cooper continued t<» carry the mail until 
another line ..!' Btages was established, when the 



46 ADDRESS. 

stages proved too strong for him, and he retired 
from the field. It would be pleasant to recall the 
times when staging was at its full tide through 
Uxbridge, when such men as John Bradlee held the 
ribbons, before the time when the railroads had 
ruined the business; to tell of the social scenes of a 
long day's ride with the pleasantest people in the 
world, of the handsomest women and the jolliest 
men; to describe how Luther Spring used to wel- 
come the drivers, and mix the toddy, and get up a 
dinner which was a dinner; and how the drivers 
would blow their bugle blasts, and come dashing up 
to the door as though the whole rebel army was in 
hot pursuit; but there is no time on this occasion to 
indulge in any such luxury, and we must hasten to 
speak of other subjects. 

I shall say nothing of the later members of the 
legal profession in this town; but I feel at liberty to 
say, that the town was fortunate in the character of 
the lawyers who early settled here. The members 
of the profession who have practiced here, so far as 
I can learn, have been Nathan Tyler, Benjamin 
Adams, Bezaleel Taft, Jr., George "Wheaton, 
Joseph Thayer, Francis Deane, Henry Chapin, 
Lucius B. Boynton, George S. Taft, and George 
W. Hobbs.* A lawyer of average ability in a 



*We add to the above list, Frederic B. Deane and Judge A. A. Putnam. 
Francis Deane and his >oii, Frederic 15. Deane, now reside in Worcester. 



AM'i 






count r \ town, •••■in do much For i he g 1 or evil, the 

credit or <l . of his home. He maj do much 

toward producing ;i spiril of peace, or ;i Bpiril of 
strife in tin- community. I have sometimes thought 
he might do more evil than tin* preacher could do 
I, or he might be one of the most efficient aids 
to the spiritual teachers of society. His peculiar 
relations to the business interests of the people, give 
him an insight into the hearts and motives of men, 
which are often hidden from the view of other per- 
sons. To use a plain illustration, the preacher - 
bis people in a Bort of Sunday, church-going garb, 
while the lawyer sees them in their every-day 
clothe-, and reads the hearts when unveiled bj any 
shadow of hypocrisy. Such being the case, the 
minister is not the onlj man whose settlement in a 
town is a matter of transcendenl importance, 
because the lawyer maj have lull a- much to do 
with it- character ami prosperity a- the minister. 

Nathan Tyler, the first lawyer in Uxbridge, 
was a colonel in the revolutionary army. Mr. Tyler 
lived in the house occupied h\ Mr. Wheeler and 
known a- the Esq. Frederic Tafl place. Of Mr. 
Tyler there is hut little Known. Hi- name appears 
occasionally upon the records of the town, lie was 
probably not only the first lawyer in Uxbridge, hut 
the first lawyer in the south part of the county. 
Although from what can be learned of him, I have 



48 ADDRESS. 

no doubt he was a man of good standing in the 
community, I infer he never came to be very prom- 
inent as a lawyer, from the fact, that the former 
Governor Lincoln onee informed an elderly lawyer 
of my acquaintance, that at one time the whole 
section between himself at Worcester and Judge 
Wheaton at Norton, was filled by Seth Hastings. 

Mr. Tyler was succeeded by Benjamin Adams. 
Mr. Adams was born in Mendon, December 16, 17(31. 
He was graduated at Brown University, studied law 
in Uxbridge, in the office of Col. Nathan Tyler, 
practiced law one year in Hopkinton, Middlesex 
county, and upon the death of Mr. Tyler, succeeded 
to his office and his business in this town. Mr. 
Adams was too young to enter the army of the rev- 
olution, but his father and his brothers were all 
soldiers, and when he was but sixteen years old, 
he mowed six weeks, cutting all the grass upon his 
father's place, while the women of the family made 
the hay. He was a member of Congress from 
Worcester south from 1815 to 1823. He was 
defeated by Jonathan Russell by reason of a speech 
of Mr. Adams in favor of the protection of American 
manufactures, Daniel Webster and the commercial 
interests of Boston having taken the field against 
him on account of his sentiments and vote in favor 
of the protection of American industry. How 
strange, that forty years ago, a man should have 



\l>M;l 98. 19 

been sacrificed politically on acconnl <»r news and 
opinions, which time seems to have taken pleasure 
in demonstrating was the true policy for N< \\ 
England. It reminds one of the splendid old hymn 
upon the mart} rs: 

•• Flung to tin- hecdlesa w inds, 
( >r on the waters <;t-t . 
I ir ashes shall l>e watched 
And gathered at the last." 

Mr. Adams was a man of peculiarly even tempera- 
ment, embodj ing in himself the idea of a pure mind- 
ed man, an honest lawyer and a christian gentleman. 
He Beemed from principle, to endeavor to make him- 
Belf a useful man in tlu- community. II*- never 
spoke unless he had something to Bay, and he al- 
ways lefl off when he had Baid it He was perfectly 
contented with whatever disposition was made of 
him by his fellow-citizens, and he wished to pros- 
per, if al all, with them. P< I of an ample 
fortune for the time in which he lived, ;it an 
unfortunate moment, he %\ .1 - induced to engage in 
manufacturing, and he shared the fate <>f many pro- 
fessional men who venture out of their Bphere. 
The hurricane which swept over the manufacturing 
busini ss "t" \< \\ England involved him in pecuniary 
ruin, l>ut hi^ integrity was lefl untarnished, and 
from the year L828, to the time of iii< death, he 
d a quiet life, rave respected by 



50 ADDRESS. 

all. His memory is yet green in the hearts of those 
who knew him, and his name is a household word 
of respect and reverence in the valley of the Black- 
stone. His simple epitaph is this, " Mark the per- 
fect man and behold the upright, for the end of that 
man is peace." 

George Wheaton was originally from Bristol 
county. He married in Uxbridge, and after prac- 
ticing law here a few years, returned to Bristol 
county and died there. He was a man of fair 
abilities, and gentlemanly deportment. His health, 
after he entered his profession, was never very firm 
and he died early. His legal business was not ex- 
tensive. Those who knew him, speak of him with 
kindness and regard. My own impression is, that 
his tastes were more literary than legal, and that he 
lacked those masculine qualities which fit a man for 
the rough-and-tumble of the profession of the law. 

An article in one of the "Worcester newspapers 
contains certain views relating to Hon. Bezaleel 
Taft, senior, formerly, and for many years, a magis- 
trate of this town, to Hon. Bezaleel Taft, Jr. and 
to George S. Taft, Esq., the last two having been 
lawyers here, which express my views so nearly 
that I take the liberty to adopt them as my own. 

"Hon. Bezaleel Taft, senior, was born in 1750 and died 
in 1839, in his 89th year. For many years he was one of 
the leading men in the south part of Worcester County, and 



IDDRE88. 51 

ilic tokens of the confidonce of his fellow-citizens, while 
thej imposed upon him the burdens of life, strengthened 
him for their faithful fulfillment. !!<• was for two years a 
member of th<" State Senate, and for some thirtj 
meml>er of the [louse "t' Representatives from Oxbridge. 
He was a strong and decided Federalist and never Bwerved 
from his political faith. 

Firm, compact, honest, dignified and able, he went 
through life fulfilling it- various duties with rare fidelity 
and conscientiousness; and lefl to his family and to all who 
knew bim, a character which Is always referred to with 
reverent pride and pleasure. Il<' became a large landholder 
in his native town, and the old homestead is yet in the hands 
<>f his descendants. The stately elms which shelter the 
home of the patriarch, built <>f timber hewn by his own 
hands, and firm as the hills around, are emblematic of the 
man whose memory is embalmed in tin 1 hearts of his friends 
and kindred. The brief and appropriate inscription upon 
his loin l. -tone reads thus : •• Hi- fife was a brighl example of 
private and public worth, :in<l tin- hoary head was t<> him ;i 
crown of glory, being found in the waj of righteousness." 

"Hon. Bezaleel Taft, Jr., was born in 1780, and died in 
L846, in his 66th year. He was ;i gentleman of polished 
manners, excellent culture and high standing in his profes- 
sion, lit- was graduated at Cambridge, in the year 1805, and 
after being admitted to the bar, established himself as a 
lawyer in his native tow n. 1 !<• always resided in I fxbridge, 
and enjoyed largely tin- confidence of his fellow-citizens. 
He was twice elected a member of the State Senate, twice a 
member of the Executive Council, and for m number of 
years a representative to the Massachusetts Legislature. 
He was \ erj active in the establishment of the State Lunatic 
Hospital at Worcester, and always referred with much 
pleasure to the part which he had taken in it- origin and 
Buccess. 1 1 « - was the second president of the Blackstone 
Bank, and held the office at the time of hi- death. He was 
a man of genial humor, rare hospitality, «nl iirli'<iH-< 1 public 
x|>irit and unbending integrity. Mi- name and character are 
held in grateful remembrance l>\ those who knew him U-t. 
and hi- children and hi- children's children -till cherish them 
a- a priceless legacy . 



52 ADDRESS. 

And now the third in the line has fallen at the age of 
thirty-three years, almost at the commencement of his 
business life. Graduating in 1848, he pursued his legal # 
studies in the office of Henry Chapin, in Worcester, until 
June, 1851, when he was admitted to the bar of this county. 
Attracted by strong feelings of affection for his kindred and 
home, he could not bring his mind to think of settling in 
any other place than Uxbridge, and he accordingly opened 
an office in that town during the same year. His life has 
been a happy one. Surrounded by those whom he loved, 
doing a respectable business, the idol of Ms friends, and the 
general favorite of every circle, he had become one for 
whom a whole community will mourn. Not subjected to 
the pressure which compels some young men to become able 
and acute lawyers, he had not risen to that height in his 
profession which his talents might have commanded ; but as 
the years rolled on the responsibilities of his position 
seemed to become more and more real to him, and high 
hopes were entertained of such a success as should do full 
justice to the powers which we all felt that he possessed. 
But such was not the order of Providence. Smitten by a 
fatal and insidious disease at a time when he seemed to be 
in the full glow of health and hope, he lingered a few 
months among us, happy, genial, loving and beloved, and 
then without a murmur or a pain went the way of his 
fathers, and the places that have known him will know him 
no more.* C." 

Of those now living it would be inappropriate, 
however desirable, to make any remarks at this 
time. I leave it to later days and other tongues to 
do them jnstice.f 

The first physician in Uxbridge, to whom I have 
occasion to refer, was a Dr. Wood, who occupied a 
hon.se standing formerly upon the old cellar situated 

* (ii ui-liv Sj.riii.ir Tall was born December 26th, 1826, and died February 2d, 
L860. 

fFor a notice of Joseph Thayer, Esq., written by Mr. Chapin, see Appen- 
dix V. 



kDDRE88, 

Dear the road, northerly from the Bpot where the 
boat bouse formerly Btood. After he bad been in 
Oxbridge a number of years, Dr. Samuel Willard 
came here from Hendon ;in<l began the practice 
medicine. Alter Dr. Willard bad practiced in 
Oxbridge awhile, on a dark and stormy night be 
w.i- called upon to visit a patient in a remote part 
of the town, or in tin' edge of Burrillville. D ■ 
Willard started on horseback, with the caller behind 
him, and after proceeding a considerable distance 
he found he was riding alone, and Boon crossed a 
stream which was swollen by a freshet. The next 
morning Dr.Willard found that the covering of a 
bridge had been taken «>r carried away, and thai his 
horse had crossed upon one of the Btring-piecee of 
the bridge with the Doctor upon his back. Soon 
after this Dr. Wood suddenly disappeared from 
Uxbridge; and Bome persons were uncharitable 
enough to Buppose that he was the mean- of the 
call which was made upon his young competitor. 

D ■ Samuel Willard was born in 1748, and died 
September 11th. 1811, aged sixty-three years, in the 
house now occupied by Joseph Day. !!»• was an 
eminent physician, a man of Btrong feelings and 
of much intellectual acumen. He did a v< sry large 
and lucrative business in his profession, and 
accumulated considerable property and extensive 
possessions of real i II' was a Tory in 



54 ADDRESS. 

the days of the revolution, but escaped the 
penalties of that offence, and spent here his busy 
life, retaining to the last that quaintness of thought, 
that positiveness of statement, that keenness of 
satire, and that wit and humor, which marked 
him in the early days of his professional life. 
For twenty years, or more, he had in charge a 
large number of insane persons, and was supposed 
to possess peculiar skill in their management and 
medical treatment. In this way he was instrumen- 
tal in bringing much ready money into Uxbridge. 
The old school-house which stood upon the hill, he 
used as a sort of insane hospital, and the small 
building which formerly stood where the shuttle 
shop is situated, was a kind of water-cure estab- 
lishment, where some of the uiyuly ones used to 
suffer the wet pains and penalties of their miscon- 
duct. One of your citizens has described to me a 
novel bath which Dr. Willard used in managing 
his insane patients. He used to put them in a box 
made full of holes, the head of the patient pro- 
truding above the box. The box was then placed 
in the water. He said to one of his patients, 
"Come, be a good Democrat and all will come 
right." Said the patient, "I have done every- 
thing bad, almost even to murder, but I never 
did so bad a thing as to be a Democrat." Two 
of these patients, named Hancock and Ayers, 



IDDR] 

whose forms and features are fresh in the memory 
of many of the present generation, belonged t<» 
families of wealth and standing in Boston. The) 
nut each other a1 dinner on their waj to Oxbridge 
in charge of their friends respectively, and they 
both remained together in the care of differenl 
persons during a period of more than forty years. 
The famous Hancock house in Boston was the home 
of the patienl <>l" thai name, whose courtly manners 
and stately form Bhowed the wreck of one who 
Bhould have been a worthy descendant of the 
patriot of revolutionary memory. If you will 
excuse one more epitaph, I will relieve _\'>n from 
any more graveyard literature after reading the 
follow big, copied from the tombstone of Dr. Samuel 
Willard: 

•• For worth departed, tears of Borrow flow : 
and friendship mourn in silent woe: 
In each pursuit t<> honor'- precept true, 
II' claims this tribute as injustice due. 

1 ins and truth ackno^ ledge him their own, 
\\ hich in their sphere a constellation -hone. 
Reader attend, and emulate hi> plan, 
Be what he was, i strictly honest man." 

Let me now Bpeaa of two other physicians who 
practiced their profession, though both of them 
subsequently removed from the town. 

Dr. Augustus C. Tafl was the bod of I' 
Chandler Tali. He practiced successfully in hi> 



56 ADDRESS. 

profession in Upton and afterwards moved to 
Uxbridge and practiced in this town for awhile. 
From Uxbridge he moved to Boston, and from 
there to Framingham, where he died early. After 
leaving Uxbridge, he devoted himself to other 
pursuits. Dr. Taft was a man of fair abilities, great 
kindness of heart, with a fund of bright, sparkling 
humor, which made him a general favorite. I am 
not aware that he ever injured the feelings of any 
one, or left an enemy behind him. He married a 
daughter of the Rev. E. T. Taylor, of the Seamen's 
Bethel at Boston, who still survives her husband. 
The tragic death of a beautiful daughter, by an 
accident at the railroad crossing near her father's 
residence in Framingham, is still fresh in the minds 
of those whose sympathies were so deeply moved 
for the grief-stricken parents. 

Of Dr. Smith it is impossible to speak in too 
commendatory terms. Hfe was in Uxbridge a few 
months only, and then settled in Sutton, where he 
remained during the most of his professional life, 
although he spent his last few years in Providence, 
where he died. He was a remarkable man. 
Belonging to a family eminent in the medical pro- 
fession, he achieved, in a quiet farming town in the 
County of Worcester, a reputation which any one 
might envy. Called in every direction for consul- 
tation and medical advice, he sustained a position 



ADDRESS. 

in the confidence of the people rarely equalled in 
tlii- vicinity. His Bplendid form, his magnificent 
head, his modesty of deportment and his clearness 
<»r intellect combined t" make him m Bort of idol 
among those who had the good fortune to secure 
his services. He loved his friends, but he <li'l not 
love indiscriminately. As an instance of his local 
attachments, it is related of him that upon his 
return from Providence on his first visit to Sutton, 
he was met upon the common with tears coursing 
down his cheeks and in explanation of the circum- 
stance said, " Why, it looks like New Jerusalem." 
It used to be Baid of him that he was rather 
uncertain about answering calls, although he was 
quite attentive to the cases of his <>1<1 friends. A 
lady, whose mother was sick Bent for the doctor, 
and he did n<>t appear under t\\<> or three days. 
The mother was one of his early friends. Upon 
his arrival, the daughter met him at the door with 
the exclamation, u I doctor, why didn't you come and 
mother soon< Said he, u I thought it was 

\ « > 1 1 \\ln> was Bick; if I bad known it was your 
mother, I Bhould have been here before," blunting 
the edge <>!' bis remark with one of those conta- 
gious bursts of laughter, which were absolutely 
irresistible.* 



Dr. il VII. 

B 



58 ADDRESS. 

John Capron, whose name has been continually 
connected with the history of Uxbridge, was bom 
in Cumberland, R. L, July 28th, 1757, and died 
July 11th, 1831. He became a citizen of Uxbridge 
about the year 1792, and purchased property, which 
with the additions afterwards made to it, has since 
been known as the Capron estate. He was the 
first President of the Blackstone Bank, and was 
Town Clerk of Uxbridge from 1801 to 1821. He 
was a plain, blunt man of consistent character, 
sturdy honesty, solid material and no veneering. 
It has been said of him, that after vainly endeavor- 
ing to decline a re-election to the office of Town 
Clerk, at a time when that officer was in the habit 
of orally publishing the intentions of marriage, 
he quietly made the proclamation on the next 
Sunday after the town meeting at which he was 
re-elected, that " I, John Capron, intend marriage," 
adding whatever more was necessary according to 
the custom of that day. Almost his first entry as 
Town Clerk was, "voted that swine run at large 
being yoked and ringed, according to law." At 
May meeting, 1804, after recording that Bezaleel 
Taft was chosen representative, he adds, " N". B. 
A considerable number of votes were given for 
Benjamin Adams, Esq., for representative, the 
precise number I forgit." At May meeting, 1808, 
he writes, " met according to the foregoing warrant, 



U>DB1 

and gave in their votes as follows:— for Mr. P 
Farnum LOl, Hon. Bezaleel Taft, Esq., 89, for the 
Hon. Benjamin Adams, Esq., I. Of conn I - 
liiiin was chosen and accepted the choice, and 
returned his thanks to 1 1 1 * - meetii 

Daniel Day was born in Mendon at the Kempton 
place, and died ( ><t. 23, L848, ag< d 81 years. II<' 
u.i- a man <>i" great industry and energy. 1 1 « pur- 
chased a large farm in Oxbridge and carried it on 
with eminent bucg bs. II'' was i ngaged in trade for 
a Dumber of years. Hi- store was formerly situated 
opposite the house of Captain Otis Wil<-<>\. and 
afterwards in the village. He was a man of large 
information, strong mind ami retentive memory . and 
although In- had but six weeks schooling in his life, 
he was one of the most thorough ami careful readers 
in town. He was tlif first person in Oxbridge t<> 
make woolen goods by machinery, ami was the 
ml person t" manufacture them in this country. 
II. acquired a respectable amount of property, and 
has lefl descendants who carrj in their marked 
qualities "1" mind ami character, the trait- of an an- 
>r whom the) will learn t<» respect the more, 
tin- more the) reflect upon the qualities which won 
for him the estimation in which In- was held b) the 
men <>1 lii- da) ami generation. 

.1 — pb Richardson was born in Burrillville, R. I.. 
and spent the larger portion "I l>i- life on the farm 



GO ADDRESS. 

now occupied by Caleb and William B. Richardson. 
He was the first democrat elected from this town to 
the Legislature. He was a large farmer and prob- 
ably acquired more property by farming than any 
other person in this vicinity. He was always present 
in the town meetings, and always listened to with 
marked interest and attention, and often had pitch- 
ed political battles with his brother-in-law, Bezaleel 
Taft, senior, who was a Federalist of the deepest 
dye. Mr. Richardson was a man of much modesty 
of feeling and demeanor, and repeatedly refused to 
accept the office of Justice of the Peace. The 
office at that day was free of charge, but at the 
present day, most men are happy to pay the sum of 
five dollars which is charged for it. He was an out- 
and-out Universalist from the deepest conviction, 
and made much exertion to attend the meetings 
of that denomination. He was a man of such sim- 
ple habits of thrift and industry, that he probably 
never spent an hour in a store or hotel, when he 
was not engaged there in business. He possessed 
a wonderful faculty for the accumulation of prop- 
erty, and whatever he touched may be almost said 
to have turned to gold. I close my remarks upon 
him with one simple illustration. As he showed to 
a neighbor his various notes and mortgages, the 
neighbor inquired, "How under the heavens did 
you come by so much property? " " Ah! " said he, 



\I-M.I i.l 

"any Pool can make money, but it takes Q 
man to keep itP He has gone, but his mantle may 
be floating over some of his kith and kin. 

In this connection, allow me to refer to one or 
two men of a very different Btyle of character. 
\Vli<» has not heard of Simeon Richardson, son of 
the gentleman of whom I have just spoken ? Im- 
agine to yourselves a genial, burly-looking man, 
weighing between two and three hundred pounds, 

who with all his g 1 qualities, had a large infusion 

of those of a more questionable character; who 
threatened to Bet fire to his father's house if he 
would nol alter his will; who applied the nose of a 
Bimple minded neighbor to a grindstone until he 
would Bay, "Blessed be Simeon;" who said, that 
he thought he never really loved his wife until he 
had taken so much comfort sleeping with a pair of 
twins, one on each arm; who threatened one of the 
most respectable magistrates in [Jxbridge, that if he 
could catch him in the state of Rhode [stand he 
would boot him within an inch of his life; who was 
romping, rollicking, genial, profane, witty and cl< 
by turn- : whose heart, in spite of hi- errors, often 
overflowed with generosity and kindness, and who 
lefl upon' one the impression of an unhewn, or 
more properly speaking, of a rough-hewn, diamond ; 
and \ on have a tolerably correct idea oi 
Richardson. 



62 ADDRESS. 

Who has not heard of Ananias Gifford, the 
sprightly little brickmaker of the valley ? Who 
that ever met him has forgotten his friendly greet- 
ing ? And who, to whom he chanced ever to be- 
come indebted, will not recognize his stereotyped 
jocularity, "Oh! yes; all easy, cousin, my name is 
Ananias; and wait "? 

It would be pleasant to me to speak at length of 
many of the former people of Uxbridge — of Jona- 
than Whipple, who was the soul of hospitality and 
good cheer, the pride of whose life was, that no 
man could say that he was not an honest man;* of 
Samuel Read, who possessed the elements of pe*- 
manent popularity; of Ephraim Spring, whose 
sneeze was said to have been heard in a clear morn- 
ing from North Uxbridge to Lumpbottom; of 
Alpheus Baylies, once so active and enterprising; 
of Frederic Taft, the unsurpassed land-surveyor 
of the town, from time immemorial; of Eastman 
Taft, the dream of whose life was to be elected 
representative from the town, and whose experience 
uniformly was to be defeated; of Jerry Wheelock, 
so thoroughly informed, and yet always so modest 
and unassuming; of Amariah Chapin, so smooth 
and gentlemanly and so kindly of speech; of 
Jonathan Gregory, the first cashier of Blackstone 
Bank; of Abiel Jaques, the blunt, outspoken 

* See Appendix VIII., Jonathan Whipple. 



LDDRJ 

preceptor of (Jxbridge Academy; of Dr. G< 
Willard, whose accommodating nature rarely 
allowed him to contradict one; of I >• i. Daniel I >. 
Payne, who, among his many decided opinions, 
believed that it was a misfortune for a girl who had 
been in the habit of earning large wages to marrj 
a man of small means, because she would be likely 
to have contracted extravagant habits; of Adol- 
j • 1 1 1 1 — Spring, with a temper so oven and ;i character 
bo pure; of Daniel Carpenter, the puritanical lib- 
eral, il)»' Unitarian worshipper with Trinitarian pro- 
clivities; of Cato Willard, one of nature's nobl< 
men in spite of the color of his skin; of Daniel 
Farnum, who with all his wealth and Bhrewduee 
loved to pitch coppers with the boys at a copper a 
game; oi Peter White and Peter Freeman, each of 
them everj inch a man; of the families of Taft, 
Thayer, Spru \ S rave, Wood, Farnum, Thomp- 
son, William- and others, some of which Beemed 
almost to rival in number the descendants of the 
father of the faithful; of glorious women, past and 
present, to describe whom successfully, would need 
a pen of sapphire dipped in a sunbeam; but time 
would fail me, it' I Bhould make the attempt One 
thing, however, I will say in this connection, that 
no town of the size and population of tTxbridg 
has been more successful in bringing up a larg 
number of active and energetic business men than 



• 



64 ADDRESS. 

this. Without referring to the business eitizens of 
to-day, let me say, that the town which has within a 
given period, sent out such men as Stephen C. 
Greene; Josiah, Royal and Amory Chapin; Jacob, 
Josiah, Edward and George W. Seagrave; John, 
Paul, Peter, Moses, Welcome and Darius D. Far- 
num; Sylvanus Holbrook; Effingham L. Capron; 
Asa Newell; Joseph Carpenter; Daniel Day; 
Royal C. Taft; David F.Wood; George T. Mur- 
dock; Stephen and Jason Emerson, and others; 
need never be ashamed of its record in this respect; 
while other towns may well look for the cause 
which has produced so remarkable a result. 

Before proceeding to consider this, let me say, that 
among the objects of interest to the people is grow- 
ing shade-trees. I have learned to make an estimate 
of the public spirit of a village, or neighborhood, 
by the simple test of the presence, or absence, of 
trees of this kind. In one of Scott's novels, 
entitled, " The Heart of Mid-Lothian," Dumbie- 
dikes is represented as saying, "Jock, when ye 
hae nothing else to do, ye may aye be sticking in a 
tree ; it will be growing, Jock, when ye're sleeping." 
When you look upon the beautiful trees which 
adorn your common, it may be pleasant to recall 
something of their history. Early in the present 
century, when the blacksmith's shop of Elihu 
Brown stood upon the spot now occupied by the 



kDDR] 

Academy building,* directly in front <>f it stood b 
e oak tree, which having become Bomewhal 
decayed, was blown down in a gale of wind. The 
two horse chestnut trees that Btand near the 
Academy building were Bet out by my classmate 
and friend, Mr. ( lharles ( '■ J( wett, the accomplished 
librarian of the Boston Public Library. The fact 
tliat he placed them where they now Btand, has 
probably long Bince passed from his mind; but 
there they Btand to dispense their beauty, fragrance 
and shade, comforting and blessing those who will 
never know to whom they are indebted for the 
pleasure. The rest of the trees upon the common, 
with the exception of one or iwo more ancient ones, 
and some thai have been Bet to replace others which 
have died, were provided in accordance with a 
subscription which was made not far from twenty 
Who that now looks npon them would 
Buppose that some persons not only refused to ;ii'l 
in the enterprise, but actually threatened to cut 
them down. 5Te1 Buch things are true, and it is a 
fact well known to some persons, that if after those 
- had been Bet out, they had'been willfully 
injured, the aggressor, if discovered, would have 
learned the penalty which the law imposes for 
willful and malicious injury to Bhade-trees. N 
money or labor was ever better invested than this. 



i\. i : : t tm Bron n. 



66 ADDRESS. 

They stand here to-day, as far as they go, the 
silent mementoes of a true public spirit; and for a 
common, not large enough to bear the seeming 
constraint and confinement of a fence, they combine 
utility and grace, and will long be looked upon as 
one of the crowning beauties of this village; and 
although it is true that our railroads, as they are 
constructed, often impress one with the idea of the 
barbarism of civilization, yet if each land-owner 
would line them with shade trees, at reasonable 
distances on each side of the track, these very em- 
bankments, which extend like artificial deserts 
through so many homesteads in the land, might be 
made " a thing of beauty and a joy forever." 

We come now to consider a new feature in the 
history of this town. 

The population of Uxbridge in 1790, was 1,310; 
in 1800, it was 1,404; and in 1810, the same. In 
twenty years, the increase of population had been 
but ninety-four, and all the increase had been in 
the first half of the twenty years. If no additional 
element of industry had been brought into use, I 
see no reason why the increase in population, be- 
tween 1800 and 1860, should have exceeded the in- 
crease between 1800 and 1810, which is represent- 
ed by a cipher; for this has been the experience of 
some of the towns where the only business has been 
farming. 



Id one of the Btories in an Interesting little b 
entitled, M John Hopkins' notions on Political 

norny," John La represented as being located "ii 
:i lonely Island and getting rather a poor living by 
the labor of his nun hands. During one of l»i> 
journeye over the- island, he discovers a huge giant, 
;iik1 manages by his superior intelligence to make 
the giant quite useful. Il«' mounted the giant's 
l»ack. made him carry him home, transport his 
burdens, draw his wood, logs and \ arious other com- 
modities about the island and thus relieve John from 
much of the drudgerj of his life. He then made 
the giant grind his corn, sa^i his wood and lum- 

and manufacture cloth, until at last thi- giant, 
who had been lazily basking in the sun, or running 
uselessly about from the time of his creation, by 
means of the skill and ingenuity of John Hopkins, 

me the comfort and civilizer <•!' the island; and 
by prudent management, became so safe and tract- 
able, that while he had the Btrength of a thousand 
horses, even a child could load him whithersoever 
he would, and ride upon his back with an impunity 
wonderful t<» l«»«»k upon. The name <>f ihi- giant 
was aqua fluenles, which in plain English means 
running streams, or flowing wafo s. The giant of 
John Hopkins is a thing of everydaj life, and in 
tin-- favored valley, the giants are all around as. 
Thej \;ii-_\ Bomewhat in Bize and power, but have 



68 ADDRESS. 

become more or less beneficent and useful to the 
community, and have added much to its wealth, 
industries and population. 

The only streams to which I purpose to call your 
attention are, West River, Blackstone River, Mum- 
ford River, Ironstone River, the Rivulet and 
Shuttle Brook. 

West River has its origin in the town of Upton, 
and although it runs through the easterly part of 
Uxbridge, it takes the name of West River from the 
fact that Mill River seems to monopolize the eastern 
part of the town where West River has its rise. 
Near the head of one of its branches in Upton, is 
what is known as Pratt's pond, and although it 
once had the reputation that many of the New 
England ponds formerly possessed, of being bot- 
tomless, it does not now look quite as unfathomable 
as formerly. It is one of the hard lessons taught 
by the experiences of life to have the poetry attach- 
ing itself to the scenes of one's childhood all 
knocked out of him, and to find the visions that 
once filled his boyish soul, all dwarfed and 
contracted; but every boy of any imagination has 
been obliged to learn the disagreeable lesson. 

Starting down this stream, small as it is, we find 
the giant has been at work, and as time has rolled 
on, his work has become more and more important. 
It is true, that the old fashioned saw mills have in 



v I • 1 • l : I 

Borne placet disappeared ae the result of the clear- 
ing "tl "i the logs and timber, formerlj so abun- 
(l;mt; but the grist-mills still remain to grind the 
grain which has taken the place of the primeval 
forest, and box-work, sash-work and various kinds 
<»l* lighter and richer labor mark the progn 88 of 
civilization and the improvement in the machinery 
of our time. Still the giant stands ready, to the 
:it of his power, to carry into full effect the 
various inventions to which the active intellect of 
man has made him subsen ient. 

The first attempt to manufacture woolen g Is 

1»\ machinery in this country, was made at Water- 
town in the spring of the year L811. In the 
autumn of the same year the next attempt was 
made by Daniel Day. Be erected a small building 
upon a brook which nia\ be called a part of v. 

r, upon the -|><>t now occupied by tin- mill <»|* 
Samuel W.Scott. A pan of it was used bj Mr. 
Wheelock for turning bobbins, and the other pari 
of it was occupied \>\ Mr. Day, with a billy, a 
jenny with thirty spindles, and a carding machine. 
11. -int t«> Watertown and procured an English- 
man to work for him. In the spring "l' 1812, M , 
Orsmus Taft* went into this mill t<» work and is 
supposed t«» be the first yankce who learned t<> 

■ 



70 ADDRESS. 

weave satinet in this country. Everything, except 
the picking and carding, was then done by hand. 
No looms were run by water in Uxbridge until a 
number of years after this time. It seems to me 
eminently becoming, when giving this brief sketch 
of this town, that we should not forget the man 
who had the foresight and the courage to com- 
mence here the manufacture of woolen goods, nor 
the humble river which was considered worthy of 
running the first card and the first picker in this 
neighborhood. There may be larger rivers than 
West River, and there may have been better pickers 
and cards than those which were run by Daniel Day ; 
but I doubt not that you will agree with me that 
none are more entitled than these to our generous 
and candid notice. 

The next privilege above, upon West River, now 
occupied by Messrs. C. A. and S. M. Wheelock, 
was afterwards, about the year 1828, taken up and 
occupied by Luke Taft and George Wall, both re- 
cently deceased. The praise of both these men is 
upon the lips of all who knew them, and their mem- 
ories are fresh and fragrant to those who loved 
them. The time may not have come to say all we 
should love to say of these men, but whoever shall 
have occasion to speak of their lives in detail, will 
have a large margin of what is truthful, honest and 
of good report to pass to their credit. 



1 71 

Aficr leaving West River we come to Black- 
stone River, which, in the days when people used t<> 
meet to arrange about letting the fish run up stream, 
went bj the name of "3 Great River." I Bupj 
this name was given to it, from the fact that this 
river becomes the receptacle <>l'all the other streams 
referred to, and conducts their waters to th< g 
hi that absorbs them all. 

The inn-! northerly Bource of the Blackstone, or 
Great River, is North Pond, in Worcester. From 
this pond flows a small but beautiful Btream called 
Mill Brook. It- main branch originates in Paxton; 
thence it passes through the easterly pari of Leices- 

1 ml entering the south-western part of Won 
ter, passes into Auburn, where it is called Kettle 
B ok. There it receives the waters of Ramshorn 
Pond from Sutton, then again appearing in Wor- 
cester, it unites with Tatnuck, or Half-way River 
from Holden. After uniting with Mill Brook, it 
ies through Millbury, Sutton and Grafton, 
where it receives the Quinsigamond River from 
Quinsigamond Lake, or Long Pond, situated in the 
eastern part of Worcester, and passing through 
Nforthbridge, Oxbridge and Blackstone, it enters the 
State of Rhode bland. Says a writer in the year 
1826, " The Blackstone is one of the most inu>«»tt- 
ant rivers of the county. This noble Btream washes 
Bomeofthe most flourishing and opulent district 



72 ADDRESS. 

the county." He speaks of the traveler as delighted 
by the hum of a continued series of manufacturing 
establishments, furnishing employment for a vast 
amount of capital and subsistence to an enterpris- 
ing, intelligent and thriving population. This state- 
ment must strike one as rather poetical when he re- 
members it was made in 1826, when Worcester, 
now numbering over 30,000 souls, by the then last 
census numbered 2,962; and Uxbridge numbering 
according to the census of 1860, 3,000 souls, by the 
then last census numbered 1,551. This was before 
the Blackstone Canal had been laid out; before what 
is known as the river-road had been constructed; be- 
fore the Uxbridge Woolen Factory had been incorpo- 
rated; when the old meeting-house stood upon your 
common; when the old hotel had not been removed; 
when the Union Building was nowhere; when old 
Mr. Baker's tannery stood near the spot where the 
Union Building, Mr. Whiting's carriage factory, 
Mr. Wing's shop and their surroundings are now 
located. It was the time when the Central Village 
of Uxbridge was rejoicing in a woolen factory 
built a few years previously, in the famous Capron 
brick store, the admiration of all the surrounding 
country; when the people were interested in the es- 
tablishment of a new bank; when Esq. Jaques 
kept school in the Academy; when Ayers the luna- 
tic used to dress in uniform, brandish his sword, or 



4DDRE8B. 

play the flute without making a noise, and declare 
he was playing inwardly; and when the portlj Elan- 
cock used to indulge his voracious appetite at every 
house where the people would give him anything 
eat, and write acrostics upon the name of ever} man, 
woman and child, who requested him t « • do 

The first factory in Oxbridge, operated by the 
waters of the Blackstone River, was owned by the 
(Jxbridgi Woolen Manufacturing Company. The 
original company consisted of Amariah Chapin, Dr. 

I I Willard, .John Talt ami < )r-mn- Talt. In a 

short time, Jacob Chapin also became a member of 

tlic company. The canal was dug ami the water 

- let in. on Thanksgiving day, 1^'J~». There was 

then no road within the distance of half a mile from 

the -pot where the factory now Stands. 'Idle first 

factory was a wooden structure, eighty feet Ion--. 
thirty-five feet wide and three Btories high. It 
Btarted with two -ft- of machinery on kerseymi 
This building was burned August 28th, L828. Ii 
any <.ne Bhould ask Mx. Orsmus Talt when was the 
first time he ever had occasion to limp in hi- unit, he 
would li\ the date at the same time, [ncluding the 
date of August 28th, L828, within the term of one 
week, seven woolen mill- in New England were de- 
stroyed by lire. All these fires were supposed to be 
the work of an incendiary. Tin traditions to 

this day of the mysterious Btranger w h«> was Bupp 
10 



74 ADDRESS. 

to have ridden like a destroying angel through the 
country, and of the gleam upon the clouds which 
seemed to mark his treacherous journey. The fac- 
tory was re-built of brick in 1828, somewhat wider, 
but of the same length as the wooden mill which 
was burned. The proprietors soon afterwards ob- 
tained an act of incorporation. A few years after- 
wards, the mill was extended forty feet, making it one 
hundred and twenty feet in length. This brick mill 
was burned in 1853, and was re-built the same year. 
There are now in the mill twelve sets of machinery ; 
and in the difference between two sets of machinery 
in 182G, and twelve sets in 1864, we see something 
of the increase and growth here of the business of 
manufacturing, with the same amount of water- 
power. 

It would be interesting to follow the varying for- 
tunes of this establishment from the time when the 
water was let into the canal up to the present time; 
to show who has made money in the business and 
who has lost it, because it might be taken as a sort 
of exponent of the fate of the infancy of woolen 
manufacturing in this country; but time will not 
allow it. In its history, there is an illustration of 
the common law principle, that the owner of land 
through which water runs, has the right to the run 
of the water without its being diverted and carried 
past his land. This right may be parted with by 



M'I'KI 

grant, <>i\ it mimv be lost by twenty years adverse use 
by the part} making tin' diversion of the water. 
The waters of the Blackstone River, when the} w 
lei into the canal of tin* Oxbridge Woolen ( '■». w 

illy diverted from the owners of land Bituated 
<>ii Blackstone River, and before the twenty y< 
had expired, most of the land owners found out their 
rights and acted accordingly. I well remember 
about the Mai- 1^!<», when this matter came home 
to Mr. Edward Seagrave, the principal owner ol 
the establishment. It came almost like a clap ol 
thunder in a clear day. 1 1 « • walked into the office 
of a young man who formerly practiced law in the 
Union Building, and commenced counting out ten 
dollar bills until he had reached five of them, — rather 
a liberal fee for Oxbridge in those days, — "There," 
said he, "help me out of this." The matter was 
subsequently adjusted. The rigid application of 
the same law against the diversion of water, pre- 
vented tli«' establishment of a manufacturing 
village at Skull Rock Bridge by the Messrs. Lock- 
wood. 
The onlj other mill in Uxbridge operated by the 

ps of the Blackstone River, is the one dow run 
-. Bradford and Tali. I could Baj some- 
thing of the history of this mill, and of a valuable 
l>ri\ ilege at ( ...at Island yet unoccupied ; but the 1 
about it are so modern, and Mr. Moses Tafl knows 



76 ADDRESS. 

so much more about them than I do, that it will be 
left for him to tell the story. 

About seventy years ago, Mumford River was de- 
scribed as follows: " Mumford River has its rise in 
Rocky woods, or Douglas woods, in Douglas, 
being increased by streams from Badluck Pond and 
from Manchaug Pond in Douglas, and by springs 
and rivulets, and runs in an easterly course into 
Uxbridge; then it turns and runs south-easterly 
within a few rods of Uxbridge meeting-house, where 
there are several sorts of mills in excellent order 
and where much business is well performed. This 
river continues its course and joins the Blackstone 
River about one mile south-east of the meeting- 
house." This description was given about the time 
when John Capron settled in Uxbridge. As nearly 
as I can learn, the several sorts of mills in this vil- 
lage at that time consisted of a grist-mill on one 
side of the stream and a saw-mill on the other side. 

In the year 1821, the Capron factory in this vil- 
lage was built under the supervision of Luke Chil- 
son, of Cumberland, R. I., and the first application 
of water-power to the running of a satinet loom by 
machinery in this vicinity was made by Mr. Chilson 
at this factory. The mill was at first sixty feet 
long; in 1837, sixty feet were added to its length, 
and in 1855, forty feet more were added. At first, 
it ran two sets of machinery; now it runs six. The 



ADDRESS. 

house nov< occupied by Col. Capron was built for 
;i tenement and a finishing -hop: what is now the 
junior having been originally used for finishing 
cloth. This factory was never destroyed by fire, but 
do building probably ever had a more narrow escape 
from it Nearlj twenty years ago, in a tremendous 
thunder shower, it was -truck by lightning. In a 
few moments after the explosion, Mr. Salmon 
Brown discovered that the wool near him was on 
fire. He instantly seized the burning wool in his 

arm- and threw it out of the window and sa\cd the 

establishment from destruction. Had the fire I 
;ii :ui\ other point in the building, or had Mr. 
Brown less presence of mind, it would probably 
been impossible to prevent a conflagration. 
The first manufacture of cotton goods in Ox- 
bridge, at what is now the village of the Oxbridge 
Cotton Mil Is, was by Forbes and Benjamin Clapp. 
Benjamin ( Jlapp had piv\ iously manufactured sh 
handle- and shoe pegs at the old Col. Tillinghast 
distillery building; and he and his brother, !' 
Clapp, about the year 1812, purchased the privi 
now occupied by the Oxbrid I tton Mills, and 
erected a small cotton mill which was afterwards 
removed and converted into a boarding-house. 
There they manufactured cotton thread until about 
the 1816, when thc\ failed. The) had been 

ked 1>\ Mr. Robert Kogerson, who was at that 



78 ADDRESS. 

time a merchant in Boston, and the concern passed 
into his hands. Mr. Rogerson manufactured cotton 
thread there until about the year 1825, when he re- 
moved the Clapp mill and commenced the erection 
of his first stone factory. 'Near it, and a few years 
afterwards, in accordance with his original plan, he 
erected a second stone factory; and as you well 
know, since the property passed out of the hands of 
Mr. Rogerson, both mills have been united. Of 
Mr. Rogerson I can speak with knowledge, and 
much of it was derived from personal acquaintance. 
It has rarely been my lot to become acquainted 
with a man who impressed me more forcibly. My 
first knowledge of him was when I was about 
twelve years of age, when he and his brother Han- 
del came to my father's house and spent the night. 
The arrival of two men from Boston, whose forms, 
features and style of dress were so marked, was an 
event in the history of our quiet neighborhood. It 
was before the days of railroads, and the vehicle in 
which they rode savored of the city and was got 
up in a style somewhat unusual in our vicinity. 
At that time, the contract was made and concluded 
for the erection and completion of the first stone 
factory. Some persons now living can recollect, 
but few can recall the appearance of the spot where 
the Uxbridge Cotton Mills are now situated, before 
it felt the touch of the hand of Robert Rogerson. 



\M>l;l - 

II i cpended there in buildings and machinery, the 
sum of i \n o hundred and lii'jy thousand dollars. 
II«' laid out a village, which at thai time had more 
of the quality of perfection than almost anj other 
manufacturing village in V \\ England. For a 
time, prosperity attended him; but al length, crushed 
by pecuniar} reverses and reduced to penury, he 
disappeared from the town; and tin- magnificent 
property that had been erected bj his genius and 
enterprise, and through \\ hich he furnished the means 
of industry and emolument to many of your people, 
passed into the hand- of strangers; and it became the 
dutj of the speaker, who as a boy had looked upon the 
grave, stern man with a reverence almost unbound- 
ed, to give this same man the written notice to ab- 
dicate his home. Robert Rogerson was no ordinary 
man. Upon all whom he met, he lefl a distinct im- 

sion t«r his peculiar individuality and personal 
independence. IIi> handwriting was sui gem 
neither easily read nor easily forgotten. He h 
with small means and became rich. V*>v a number 
of years he was engaged in Boston in the manufac- 
ture of thread by means of an apparatus operated by 
horse-power. The horse was kept quietly at work 
in a cellar, and was no more ignorant of what his 
owner was doing than the public, who were unable 
to Bolve the mystery of his success. He was en- 

d quite earlj in life in manufacturing in W< st 



80 ADDRESS. 

Boylston, and when the Crown and Eagle mills were 
erected, he was a man of large property and remark- 
ably prosperous. He was a man of extensive read- 
ing, much thought and rare musical genius. It 
was a luxury on the Sabbath, to listen to the strains 
of sacred melody which were produced by his skill 
in the use of the organ, which the Unitarian society 
owe to his munificence, — and during the last thirty 
years, it has always had an organist who has played 
it without compensation, — or to join with him in the 
rich music in which his soul delighted. With all 
his superior qualities, he was not without traits 
which tended to make him unpopular with the mass 
of the people. He had little of the small-talk of 
the world and he did not readily adapt himself to all 
men and to all occasions. He had an indomitable 
will and a deep undercurrent of pride, which led 
him, if possible, to accomplish alone whatever he un- 
dertook, and to scorn to ask for aid until it was too 
late to be of any avail. He vainly endeavored to 
bear up under the load of debt which accumulated 
in his business, and he stood like the oak which 
bends not to the storm. The crash came at last, 
and it came with such force that he never rallied 
from it. He sank so deep that no bubble ever rose 
to the surface; but even to the last, he proved him- 
self a benefactor to Uxbridge; for scarcely a debt 
was owing by him in this vicinity that was not paid 



IDDR1 98. B 1 

in foil. lie left the splendid property thai he had 
erected here, to beautifj and benefit the town, and 
the capitalists were the onlj losers bj hi- miafoii nut--. 
Whatever may have been the feelings of Borne who 
imagined they wen- hi- enemies, Uxbridge owes him 
a debt of sincere gratit ude, and w hatever maj be the 
verdict of the rest of the world, the people of this, 
hi- adopted and cherished home, Bhould love ami 
reverence hi- memory . 

It iu;i\ not be uninteresting t" refer to the p 
of manufacturing apon the Mumford and Black- 
Mom- Rivers bo far a- tin- same arc situated within 
tin- limits <>l' the original town of Uxbridge. 
When "He \i-it- WhitinsvUle, and remembers 
that ihiit\ years ago there was hut one machinist 
in the village, then called South Northbridge, 
In- begins t<» realize the progress which ha- been 
made there within 1 1 1 « • present century. At some 
time before tin- memorj of any Living man, there 
was a forge n"i far from the Bpot where the 
Stone Factory now stands, because there were the 

- 

remain- of one there >i\t\ years ago. A forge was 
afterwards built by ('"I. Ezra Wood,* the grand- 
father <>f Samuel Fletcher, Mrs. Paul Whitin and 
Mr-. Amasa Dudley, apon the Bpot which i- now 
occupied by the bricfe -hop mar the bridge. The 
grist-mill that formerlj stood at the upper dam was 

• I i XI. 

i i 



82 ADDRESS. 

removed about the year 1804 and was located close 
to the forge. The shop of Col. Paul Whitin stood 
on the west side of the road, on the north side of the 
stream, and next south of his house; and these build- 
ings, together with three or four residences, consti- 
tuted in 1808, what is now known as Whitinsville. 
In 1809, Col. Whitin erected what is now the upper 
cotton mill at the upper dam. A company consist- 
ing of Mr. Whitin, Samuel Fletcher and others, was 
formed for the manufacture of cotton, and was 
incorporated by the name of the " Northbridge Cot- 
ton Mills," and continued the manufacturing of 
cotton goods down to the year 1825. In 1825, the 
estate was sold to Thomas and "William Buffum, 
who owned and occupied it until 1829, when they 
failed. The property passed into the hands of Sam- 
uel Shove for one year, and was then purchased by 
Paul Whitin and Sons who have owned it ever since. 
In 1814, Paul Whitin converted the forge building 
into a cotton factory and it was occupied as such by 
Whitin and Fletcher until 1826, when the original 
building was taken down by P. Whitin's Sons and 
the present brick building erected in its place. In 
the year 1844, the splendid stone factory was built 
on the east side of the road, and in 1847, the large 
brick machine shop was built to take the place of 
the wooden structures which from time to time had 
been growing up to accommodate the immense 



4DDB1 

increase in the building of machinery ; and if we \ isit 
the premises to-day, we Bhall witness the evidence a 
of growth and prosperity which leave as utterly 
unable to foresee the results of the next half century ; 
for who can tell what the combined power of steam 
and human intellecl may not be able to accomplish. 
Upon the Blackstone River, at the Bpot where is 
now the village of Rockdale, early in the present 
century were a Baw-mill and a grist-mil] known as 
Eddy's mills. After the last war, as we nsed to 
Bay, about the year l s l~>. a corporation was formed 
called the " Nbrthbridge Cloth Manufacturing ( '<»m- 
j » ; i 1 1 x , ~ "* consisting of the elder Governor Lincoln, 
Daniel Waldo, Judge Nathaniel Paine, Jesse Eddy 
and others, who built there a factory and manufac- 
tured woolen cloths. Mr. Waldo became frightened 
and gave his stock to the younger Governor Lin- 
coln and Col. John W. Lincoln. If I am correctly 
informed, the corporation Bold out it- interest in the 
te before the death of the elder Governor Lin- 
coln, wli<> died in 1820. EQs executors Bold a large 
quantity <»i" wool, which he had raised to be worked 
np in the mill of the corporation, at the price of two 
dollars a pound; and they made more monej <>n the 
wool than the Governor had made in manufacturing. 
Three-fourths <>f the estate was conveyed by thu 
corporation to John Parnum, Samuel Willis and 
I. k Pitts, and on the L7th of December, 1821, it 



84 ADDKESS. 

was conveyed by said Farnum and Willis to Sylva- 
nus Holbrook. On the 11th day of October, 1822, 
the other fourth was conveyed by Jesse Eddy to 
Sylvanus Holbrook. Mr. Holbrook did a very 
extensive business there for a number of years. 
Enterprising and ambitious, for a time he seemed to 
be a favorite of fortune. Some of us remember the 
time before he was overtaken by misfortunes by fire 
and flood, when in robust health, with glowing cheek 
and flashing eye, he used to drive that white horse 
and sulky over this section of country; and, as we 
turned to look upon his splendid form, and one of 
the most striking faces we ever beheld, we uncon- 
sciously said to ourselves, there goes one of nature's 
noblest specimens of a man. He afterwards became 
the owner of Dunn's mills, situated about a mile 
below Rockdale. Dunn's mills were once a famous 
spot. I well remember when "West River failed and 
the grist could not be ground in my native town, 
that a sort of pilgrimage was made over an old 
narrow, hilly road to Dunn's. There was a mystery 
about the still, deep-flowing river which astonished 
those whose experience was confined to shallower 
streams; and David Dunn, who lived in the green 
house by the mill, east of the river, and Henry 
Dunn, who lived in the red house upon the hill, 
west of the river, with their coats all covered with 
meal and their hats all caked with dough, were 



\m-i;i ! 

objects of peculiar reverence, [fat thai time, at now, 
Bcythee and bayonets had been manufactured in the 
stone Bhop, almost as rapidly as a man can wink, 
the days of witchcraft would seem to have come 
again, and Blackstone River might have been in 
imminent danger of becoming an object «>i" idolatry. 
Rising in the north-westerly part of the town, a 
small stream runs into the Mumford River. It ]<• 
the euphonious title of a The Rivulet." Upon this 
small stream, the M Ki\ nlel Manufacturing ( kunpany" 
established themselves in 1815. The company con- 

1 of Samuel Read, Alpheus Baylies, John 
Capron, Daniel Carpenter, Jerry Wheelock,G 
Carpenter, Joseph II. Perry, Luther Spring, Ezbon 
( . Newell, Samuel Judson and Amherst Billings. 
It was formed March 14th, 1815, with a capital of 
fourteen thousand five hundred dollars, for the 
purpose of manufacturing wool and cotton into 
yarn and cloth, to continue eight years and as much 

er as three-fourths of the company should agree 
to continue it; ami to make no dividend of profits 
within the term of eight years, unless bj a vote of 
three-fourths of the company. They manufactured 
only satinets and purchased the warps. Either 
because the stream was so small, or for some other 
reason, a dividend of profits was never declared : and 
the privilege was abandoned, so far as the manufac- 
turing of wool was concerned, between thirty and 



86 ADDRESS. 

forty years ago. From that time to the present, the 
factory has passed through a variety of fortunes, 
and it remains as a standing admonition not to build 
too large an establishment on too small a stream. 
The power of the Mumford River has been enlarged 
and economized by means of the construction of two 
or three splendid reservoirs, operating on the same 
principle as the interest which accures upon reserved 
profits in business; but the poor little rivulet, that 
like the little stream in the orchard described by 
Grace Greenwood, was scarcely worth a dam, never 
arrived at the dignity of having a decent sized 
reservoir to encourage it in its efforts to furnish 
constant power to the establishment. 

There runs through this village and empties into 
the Mumford River another small stream known as 
Shuttle Brook. As I have before stated, the build- 
ing, which formerly occupied the spot where the 
shuttle shop now stands, was the scene of the 
ablutions of the crazy crowd congregated under the 
care of Dr. Samuel Willard. From Dr. Willard, the 
property passed into the hands of Abiel Jaques, who 
about the year 1825, sold the water privilege and 
building to the late Capt. George Carpenter, who 
erected the building where the water privilege is 
now used. Capt. George and Col. John Capron, 
for a few years occupied the shop for the building 
of looms and other articles of machinery. The 



U>DR1 

estate then passed into the hands of Messrs. Aldrich 
and Hopkins, \\ 1 1 < » carried on the business of making 
Bhnttles. It then passed into the hands of 'John 
White, who carried on the same business. It then 
passed into the hands of Joseph Thayer, Esq., who, 
bo far as I can learn, never manufactured shuttles, 
cotton or wool, but who Beems to have had, first and 
last, about as many titles in the manufacturing 
establishments of CJxbridge as all tin- manufacturers 
put together. It then passed into the hands of 
Robert G-. Taft, who carried on what is known as 
the "kit business," that is, making shoemakers' tools. 
It thru passed into the hands of George W. Thurs- 
ton, who also carried on the k> kit business.' 1 It 
then passed into the hands of Robert Taft. who <li<l 
lmt carrj on the "kit business," and from him it 
< d t<« the present owner. Before I became an 
inhabitant of CJxbridge, I used to hear about a 
mineral spring Bituated Bomewhere in the neighbor- 
hood of the shuttle Bhop, lmt like the springs at 
Ballston, it ha- been over-shadowed by the Bplendors 
of Saratoga and is heard of no m< 

Tin' next Btream, to which our attention would 
naturally 1 • « - directed, is the Emerson Brook, upon 

which there W8J3 once ,i factory, a Baw-mill and a 

grist-mill, but the} have been substantially aban- 
doned. Those who are more acquainted with the 
stream than I am, can tell whether it pot any 



OO ADDRESS. 

power that is worth the expense of attempting to 
apply it, although I see no reason why the quantity 
of water and the extent of the fall would not 
authorize a reasonable effort to make the same sub- 
servient to the good of the community. 

The last stream that I shall refer to is the Ironstone 
Brook. About the year 1814, the factory of the 
Ironstone Manufacturing Company was built by 
William Arnold, Moses Farnum, Dr. Comstock and 
Laban Comstock, and they manufactured cotton 
yarn. About 1820, William Arnold came into 
possession of the property, and it was used for the 
manufacture of cotton cloth. The mill was burned 
in 1832, and was not by him re-built. The property 
then passed through various hands, and Jonathan 
F. and Elisha Southwick re-built the mill in 183G. 
Since its re-building it has been owned by sundry 
individuals and firms, and has generally been devoted 
to the manufacturing of different kinds of woolen 
goods. The mill takes its name from the peculiar 
appearance of the stone of which it is built, indicat- 
ing the presence of iron in it. 

Upon the privilege below the stone mill, manufac- 
turing was begun by means of a small wheel, which 
was put in a short time before Mr. Farnum raised 
the dam at Millville. The reason why a manufac- 
turing establishment in miniature was erected there, 
is to be found in the fact, that the owner of a lower 



ai.i>ki>-. 

privilege has the right to il«>w oul an apper 
privilege upon the Mine Btream, provided the apper 
privilege lb do! occupied for mill purposes. Mr. 
Southwick, the owner of the privilege of which I am 
speaking, in accordance with the advice <>r counsel, 
established rather a small mill and wheel there, and 
I have always felt a decided conviction that it was 
not an unprofitable investment.* 

There is one other object t<> which the waters of 
the Blackstone valley have been appropriated, that 
deserves a passing notice; I refer to the Blackstone 
canal. The subject of a canal, from the waters ol 
Narragansett Baj to the centre of Massachusetts, 
had been agitated at various times from 177<"> to the 
time when the Blackstone Canal Company was 
incorporated. In L822, the project was taken hold 
of in earnest. Acts of incorporation were granted 
by the States of Massachusetts and Rhode bland 
respectively; and on July 5th, L825, the two State 
corporations were united under the name of the 
u Blackstone Canal Company ." The excavation was 
ii in Rhode bland in 1824; in Massachusetts in 
1826; and the first boat passed over the whole line 
and arrived at Worcester, October 7th, 1828. Amid 



Appendix Ml., for note ti| \lll. 

for Hi' . upon Hi- I 

"f 111. II. 

the publication of ilii* Addreea and the pn paration of ootei t<> it. 

'In In in the town i- nm.li ill- 1 - 

La 



90 



ADDRESS. 



the booming of cannon, the waving of flags and the 
general rejoicing of the people along the route, the 
waters of the Karragansett and the centre of Massa- 
chusetts were at length united. The expense of 
the work was about seven hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars, over two-thirds of which was paid by 
citizens of Rhode Island. It has been truly said, 
that the canal was more useful to the public than to 
the owners. I know that some persons have been 
accustomed to sneer at the Blackstone canal; but to 
my mind, it was a magnificent enterprise. To the 
Providence and Worcester railroad, it was a sort 
of fore-runner, hinting at its grade, furnishing its 
path, and opening an avenue for the transportation 
of heavy freight up and down through the valley, 
until the day should come, which would demonstrate 
the necessity and the possibility of more rapid com- 
munication.* As a proof of this, we give the 
quantity of freight carried over the canal from Provi- 
dence to Uxbridge during five years; in 1831, 964 
tons; in 1832, 1,184 tons; in 1833, 1,069 tons; in 
1834, 1,497 tons, and in 1835, 1,534 tons. 

The changes which soon took place in the methods 
of travel and transportation, will always prevent 



*The Blackstone canal ceased to be used in Massachusetts after the opening 
of tlic Providence and Worcester railroad in 1847. It continued in partial use 
in Rhode Island for several years longer; not for its value as a means of pub- 
lic transportation, but to secure water rights obtained by means of the canal 
charter. 



IDDILE88. '.'I 

:uiv accurate statement of what the canal would 
have accomplished if if had been constructed twenty 
years earlier; lmt many of the besl informed men, 
— men who have bad the best opportunities for 
forming a sound judgment, will tell yon to-day, thai 
n<>t <>ni\ Providence and Worcester, but everj town 
along the whole Line <>f the canal is deepl) indebted 
t<> it, for its present growth and prosperity. 

I have thus referred to running water and to some 
of the results of its application to machinery, or 
ortherwise. It has increased wealth and comfort 
and productive industry. In the little story to 
which I have referred, John Hopkins is represented 
as coming in contact with another giant, to which 
I propose, for a fen moments, to call jour attention. 
•• Aqua fluentes™ is qo1 the onTj giant here made 
useful. John's new gianl was far more difficult and 
dangerous t" manage; and much more rapid and 
impetuous in his manner of doing business. When 
the first was aof powerful enough t<» perform the 
tasks imposed, the second could be brought to his 
aid, and while the first was mostly limited to the 
lines of travel in which he had been accustomed t«» 
lam and uever could be managed with any buc< 
on an ascending grade, lmt there came to a dead 
-t<»|». the latter could be made to work at any place 
and at any time; and the more closely he was con- 
fined and the more abundantly he was fed, the more 



92 ADDRESS. 

powerful and active was the strength that he put 
forth; and while the former was a comparatively 
slow and lazy traveler, the latter moved as swiftly 
as the wind. Go to Wheelock's factory and you 
will find a twenty-five horse-power engine already 
added to the force of the original stream. Go to 
the Uxbridge Woolen factory, and you will find an 
addition of a forty horse-power of the same kind. 
Go watch each shrieking engine as it thunders along 
the iron track which passes through this village, 
and you will find the steam giant of John Hopkins. 
Had this giant been confined at the Rivulet 
factory, and had the means of feeding him been as 
readily furnished as now, that weather-beaten estate 
might have been as bright and as busy as any, and 
never have been struck by the desolation which 
seems to have marked it. The use of steam as a 
power in this town (if I remember accurately) did 
not exist until after the opening of the Providence 
and Worcester railroad. The increase which it may 
give to your power, productiveness and industry, 
time only can tell. It would be less easy to tell 
what you may become with it, than to tell what 
Worcester would be without it. 

About twenty years ago, two gentlemen were seen 
riding on horseback from Providence to Worcester, 
and paying rather careful attention to many of the 
localities of their journey. They were Messrs. 



▲DDR] 98. 98 

l£os< a B. [yes and Alexander Duncan, two of the 
most wealthy and influential citizens of the State of 
Rhode [aland. The object of their singular ride 
was to ascertain the feasibility of a railroad from 
Providence to Worcester. According to their 
suggestions, meetings were held, facts were col- 
lected, stock was subscribed for, and after a few 
years a railroad was completed between the two 
cities. When \\<' see the immense and numerous 
freight trains which pass over this road daily, when 
w , observe the crowd of passengers who nil the 
cars, when we find the stock selling at one hundred 
and thirty-five dollars a Bhare, whether gold is one 
hundred and forty, or one hundred and seventy, 
paying from it-- earnings a semi-annual dividend of 
four per cent., with a handsome surplus to be applied 
to building a double track, or to any other improve- 
ment which may tend t«> the accommodation, or 
safetj of the public, it is hard to realize, how, at 
first, the matter dragged, and how difficult it was 
i<» induce capitalists to invest in the enterprise. 
But time, as truly the vindicator <>f a great enter- 
prise as of a virtuous deed, has demonstrated even 
t<» the timid and hesitating, that the hour had 
fully come for building the rail-way; and a< the 
con lights of free-labor stream out from the 
mills as we glide bo Bmoothly by, they speak in 
tones of genuine eloquence of the energy, com- 



94 ADDRESS. 

fort and resources of the valley of the Black- 
stone. 

As an illustration of the manner in which the 
world is making progress, I have selected the 
following facts from the Scientific American: — 

" One man can spin more cotton yarn now, than four 
hundred could do in 1769, when Arkwright took out his 
first patent." 

" One man can now make as much flour in a day, as a 
hundred and fifty, a century ago." 

" One woman can now make as much lace in a day, as a 
hundred women, a hundred years ago." 

' ' It now requires only as many days to refine sugar, as it 
did months thirty years ago." 

' ' It once required six months to put quicksilver on glass ; 
now it needs only forty minutes." 

We have thus briefly referred to the local charac- 
teristics of this town and its inhabitants. We have 
referred to some of the sources of its industry and 
the manner in which they have been developed. 
We come down to the year of our Lord 1864, and 
we find here more of the elements of substantial 
prosperity than were ever found here before. 
Here are more rich men, more productive industry 
and more to commend it to our hopes and expecta- 
tions than have existed at any former period in its 
history. It is true, that more of the foreign element 
is found here than formerly, and a Catholic church 
exists where formerly not a Catholic was found; but 
the day has come when the Catholic and the Pro- 
testant, the Calvinist and the Liberal Christian, can 



\M'i:i 

dwell together in peace and harmony, each one 
worshipping God in his <»\\n way, and standing, or 
falling, i" his own Master. The future Buccesfl and 
prosperity of this town depend, not upon its water- 
power, although tlii- is always desirable as an 
incidental circumstance \ oof upon it- steam-power, 
used cither to drive fixed machinery, or for rapid 
locomotion; not apon the fertility of its soil, norths 
beauty of its location, but upon Bkilful, industrious, 
intelligent, true-hearted and virtuous men and 
w omen. 

If yon ask, what are the conditions of growth 
and prosperity for any city, town or villag 
answer, that it is not the advantages of the best 
location, do! the mosl fruitful soil, not the lai 
water-power, not the best facilities for communica- 
tion; but if in addition to a reasonable supplj of 
these, there are men who have the brains to plan, 
the wills to undertake, and the nerves to carry on 
Mich business as will furnish the blessings of well- 
paid labor, and if there are women with heart and 
brains enough to appreciate and aid them, your 
question is readily answered. 

And here we learn one of the unpleasant lessons 
taught by the facilities which are n<>\\ furnished for 
cheap and rapid travel, and transportation. No 
longer than thirty years ago, it was about a three 
days' journej t<» visit Boston, attend to business and 



96 ADDRESS. 

get fairly home. Now you can reach there in 
season for business, attend to business during 
business hours and be at home in time for tea. 
But have you ever thought that the tendency of this 
state of things is to steal away your brightest and 
your best, and before you are aware of it, to convert 
them into citizens of some commercial metropolis, 
whither everything seems to be moving. Centraliza- 
tion is the result naturally springing out of this 
rapidity of communication, which tends to carry 
away the active and energetic men with a power 
almost irresistible. How is this tendency to be 
counter-balanced? I answer, by building up at home 
the means of lucrative employment, and by giving 
to skilful, honest labor, its just and honest reward. 
Teach your children, that the object of human life 
is not greatness, but goodness; that the real phi- 
losopher's stone is an elevated standard of human 
virtue; that the demand upon a human being is to 
do well the duty which lies nearest him and make 
the world better by his having lived in it. All men 
cannot be great, but every man can be good. All 
men cannot reach what are falsely estimated as the 
points of desirable elevation, but every man can be 
respectable. All men cannot exert a wide and 
prominent influence, but every man may be a blessing 
to the loving circle which surrounds him. All men 
have their particular localities to which they transfer 



tDDRJ 

their affections; but I envj neither the head, nor the 
bear! of him, who does not often turn with q deep 
and heartfelt longing to the Bcenes, the remem- 
brances and the friendships of his early home; and 
I honor with my hear! of hearts, the man, <>r the 
woman, \\li" amid the allurements <»r this changing 
world, retains in large measure the purity and 
guilelessnesa "Tan innocent and happy childhood. 

\\ e ■ • them in our Bweetest dreams, — 
These fruitful hills :m<l iln\\inL. r streams; 
And listen, \\ ith a half draw □ sigh, 
To melodies of daj - gone bj . 

But -""ii there soundeth loud*and clear, 
\ \ oioe we must nol fail t<> hear ; 
There pointeth, with a warning hand, 
An angel t" the stern command; — 

The past must bury up it- dead : — 
The future comes with earnest tread, 
It crowds each momenl of to-daj , 
And drives the cherished past away. 



18 



A Composition by a Young Lady of Uxbridge, written in 

1832 Appendix XIV. 

Of Some Members of the Capron Family Appendix XV. 

Of the Taft Family Appendix XVI. 

Of the ScnooLS Appendix XVII. 

Of the Select Schools and Academies Appendix XVIII. 

Of the Libraries Appendix XIX. 

Of the Banks in Uxbridge Appendix XX. 

Of the Burying-grounds Appendix XXI. 

Of the Men from Uxbridge who served in the Civil War, 

1861-1865 Appendix XXII. 



APPUXDI'CKS. 



I ,(C 



APPENDIX I. 

'I'm: SUOCI 984 >B8 "i REV. Mi;. ( 'i.auki . 

The successors "t" Rev. Mr. Clarke as pastors < »t" t 1m- 
Firsl ( '<iiiL r r<'L r :iti"t)al Church in Oxbridge have ' d: 

Rev. Chables Taylob Caniteld, ordained and installed 
October L2th, I860, and resigned March 81st, l v 

. K'i bhton Dash?! Bi i:k. was installed November 

12th, 1862, and resigned May 4th, l - 

i; . Samuel Russell Priest, wae ordained and installed 
Jan. 20th, L869, and resigned Jan. 2nd, 1871. 

I; . James Thompson Lube, was hired March, 1872, 
and resigned July l -t. 1 s 7.'>. 

I;. . Gi qe Bremneb, was ordained and installed Nov. 
L6th, 1875, and remainfl pastor of the church. Bfnchmighi 
be kindly Baid "f the last ti\«' \\li"~<' uamee appear, but tin- 
time has 1 1 • • t \<i come. H. C. 

'I'm SUOO] BSOBfl "i Hi V. Mi:, -'i I 

hwii. Adams Gbosvenob, son of Nathan and Lydia 
Adam- Grosvenor, was born at Craftsbury, Vermont, July 
10th, 1802, Bis parents were from Windham County, Con- 
necticut In 1818, he entered Phillips Academy, Andover, 
and began hi- preparation for college, having the christian 
ministry in view. He entered Yale College in 1821. An 
iiiilainiiiatinn of the eyes during his junior year, rendered 



102 APPENDIX I. 

him unable to read for nine months, and compelled him- to 
fall back a year in his standing, from the class of 1825 to 
that of 1826. After graduating he spent a year in the 
family of Judge Hall, of Ellington, Conn., as principal of 
his "High School." The next three years were spent at 
the Theological Seminary of Yale College. After being 
licensed to preach, he supplied for nine months the pulpit 
of the Congregational Church in Pomfret, Conn., his father's 
native place. He began preaching in Uxbridge, August, 
1831, and on June 6th, 1832, was ordained and installed 
pastor of the First Evangelical Congregational Church in this 
town, and was dismissed at his own request, June 15th, 1842. 
He was what is known as a " Taylorite " in his views ; these 
views representing the New Haven school of orthodoxy in 
contra-clistinction to the Andover school. He was a faithful 
preacher, a man of fair learning and ability, and performed 
his pastoral duties with much patience and fidelity. No 
man could have more at heart the interests of his church, 
and no man ever gave himself more zealously to his calling 
than he. In February, 1843, he was installed pastor of the 
First Presbyterian Church, in Elyria, Ohio, and remained 
there till the summer of 1852. In 1853, he became pastor 
of the Congregational Church in Medina, Ohio, where he 
remained several years. 

Mr. Grosvenor published several sermons and articles for 
reviews. He married in May, 1835, Miss S. Whitney, 
t and their only child, who died in infancy, is buried in the 
Uxbridge Cemetery. 

Mr. Grosvenor died at Cincinnati, Ohio, August 11th, 
1866, of cholera. His widow lives upon the valuable estate 



\iii \i-i\ i. 103 

which her beloved husband lefl in Elyria, <>liii>. •• II.- wai 
a faithful servant of the Lord and through thi 
t<> him, was uncommonly successful in hi- labors." 

The successors of Ita . Mr. < rrosvenor, all of whom, except 
Mr. Abbot, are living, have been: — 

Eta . Johs < >i;< i 1 1. installed Dec. 18th, 18 i-\ and 
dismissed May 1-t, 1 ^ 19 ; — 

Jacob .1\<k-<>\ Abbot, D. I'.. — a notice of whom we 
my c In-low ; — 

Rev. .1. B. .I< >n\-i p\, installed December 1 5th, 1864, and 
dismissed February 6th, 1868; — 

Rev. Thomas ('. Bisooe, installed December 2d, l 
and dismissed Ma\ 25th, 1876; — 

Rev. Geobge II. •'< >n\~< >\. hired for one year from May 
1 -t , 1877, and lefl when the year expired ; — 

Rev. William II. Cobb, installed September 18th, 1878, 
:iml remains pastor at the present time. 

Jacob Jackson Abbot, I>. I>., was born in Groton, 
Vermont, Julj 17th, 1813, and died in \«\\ Haven, Conn., 
i ember 3d, 1878, at the age of sixty-five years. Be com- 
menced In- preparation for college after In- attained bis 
majority, entering the academy at Peacham, Yt.. late in tin- 
year l s .">l. ami tin- Sophomore class in Dartmouth College 
in tin- summer of 1836; ami he was graduated in 1837 si the 
head of his class. The next two years he was engaged in 
teaching in the State of Mississippi. Returning t<> Ncin Eng- 
land in 1841, he entered Andover Theological Seminary; 
luit was now persuaded t" accept a tutorship in Dartmouth 
College, which he held for two years. In 1843, Mr. \i>)>«.t 
declining any further Bcrvice in the college, entered tin' 



104 APPENDIX I. 

middle class in Union Theological Seminary. He used to 
say that the theological course was a " perfect feast to him." 
He was graduated in 1845, and immediately accepted a call 
from the church in Bennington, Vt. He was ordained and 
installed August 27th, 1845, as the successor of the Rev. 
Dr. Hooker. He married Miss Margaret Fletcher Whitin, 
of Whitinsville, September 16th, 1845. The work upon 
which he entered was a large one, and his health failed him 
during the first year, and at the end of the second year he 
was dismissed, his physician giving him little encourage- 
ment of regaining his health. As soon as he was able to 
travel, he accepted an agency from the American Tract 
Society, and set out on horseback to make a tour through 
the States of North and South Carolina, and Georgia. His 
health gradually improved, and at the end of seven months, 
he was able to return to New England, although he was 
not immediately able to resume the responsibilities of a 
pastorate. In 1850, he accepted a call from the Evangelical 
Congregational Church in Uxbridge, after having supplied 
the pulpit there for six months. Here he had " precious 
fruits of his labors and warm hearts still attest his faithful- 
ness." During the pastorate of Mr. Abbot, September 
3d, 185(5, Mr. William Banfield Capron, son of Deacon 
William C. Capron, was ordained as a Christian minister. 
Rev. Mr. Capron was afterwards appointed to the Madura 
mission, where he died Oct. 6th, 1876. Mr. Abbot resigned 
his pastorate in 1862, and preached for some time in 
Whitinsville and other places in the vicinity. In 1863, he 
went to Washington to engage in the work of the Christian 
Commission. This service, which he undertook for six 



Mil \l-l\ I. 

weeks, butted almost tw<> years, or until (In- close "t the 
work of the commission. He discharged with fidelity and 
great -m-. ■■-- the delicate and perplexing duties of the 
position. Prom Washington In- went directly i" tin » 
tr.il church in Yarmouth, Maine, which had been \\:iitin'_ r 
fiff him for some months. He was installed as pastor and 
remained here until the final failure of his health, and wa- 
dismissed Oetolior 1st, L875. He then spent ft year and a 
half at a health-retreat in tin- interior of Vw York, and in 
1^77. he went tn Colorado, bnt finding no permanent 
relief from tin- change <>t climate, he came back to hi- home 
in New Haven, Oonn., t<> die. During hi- last illness, 
which was accompanied by intense Buffering, In- used b 

that I wanted t<> feel that everything, all hi- trial- even, 

canu- t'n mi tin- hand of God." •• Second causes trouble me," 
he -aiil, •• I want nothing to come between me and God." 
Tin- tiual change came at midnight. "I think the death 
struggle i- over," In- Baid : •• I praj for you all :" and bo he 
fell asleep. Dr. Abbot was frequently appointed on the 
examining committee of Bowdoin College, and Buch was bis 
tauiiliarit v with the classical languages and with mathe- 
matics, that In- wa- able t<> ••nt<r into the different examina- 
tions a- readilj a- if he had been a professor ofonlj a Bingle 
department of study. Be was a careful student ofthe Scrip- 
tures in the Hebrew ami Greek tongues, and a clergyman 
who knew him well Bays, *• he wa- the only parish minister 
I have ever known, who had worn out hi- Hebrew Bible, 
-«> that it had to be re-bound." In L874, Bowdoin College 
conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. 

\ a minister, 1 >r. A.bbo1 was remarkable fur hi- clear and 

1 1 



106 APPENDIX I. 

discriminating views of the truths of the Bible. His ser- 
mons were remarkable for simplicity in the statement of 
the truth and for their evangelical tone. In the pulpit he 
seemed under restraint, as one possessed with a sense of 
the glory of the place. He was a judicious counsellor and a 
faithful friend. — [Ed. Condensed from an obituary written 
by Rev. E. H. Byington, and published in the Vermont 
Chronicle, of January 18th, 1879. 



APPENDIX II. 

The Bapttsi Church. 

The Baptisl Church, in North Uxbridgc, was organized 
June 22nd, 1842, and was called the " Uxbridge Baptisl 
Church." < >m the same day, Ai mi\ Bobbins was ordained 
and installed pastor of the new church. 

l>:i\M I >. Paine and Era Parkia were subsequently chosen 
ona <>t" the church. The church rapidly increased in 
numbers, receiving forty-seven members during the first 
year of its organization. lJ<-\ . Mr. Bobbins remained with 
the church until 1850, when he resigned after a successful 
pastorate ofeighl years. For the next four years the pulpil 
of this church was supplied by Rev, Job Boomer, Rev. 
Joseph Smith, Rev. Joseph Tdlijnghasi and Rev. S. S. 
Mallort, each officiating aboul one year. Rev. James 
Ri as] i.i. became pastor of the church November I lth, 1854, 
and resigned in 1864, altera verj successful pastorate of 
nearly ten years. Rev. Joseph Barbeb became pastor in 
April. L865, and resigned in November, L8G8, and was fol- 
lowed bj Rev. J. W. Dick, in April. L869, who continued 
his ministry here until July, 1871. [n October, 1 s 7 1 . Rev. 
J. II. In ron was installed pastor of the church and remained 
-i\ years, closing hia labora Octol>er, 1877. In the follow- 
ing month, November, 1877, the present pastor, Rev. B. H. 
L \m.. \\;i- installed. 



108 APrENDIX II. 

This church has always occupied the hall, which was fitted 
up as a place of worship, by Mr. Robert Rogerson, over 
the store which was built about the time of the organiza- 
tion of the church ; and the Messrs. Whitins have furnished 
it for the same purpose since they came into possession of 

the property. 

The church has recently purchased a house for a parson- 
age, with a site for a house of worship, which they hope to 
erect at some future time. The membership of the church, 
for the last twenty years, has not varied much from one 
hundred members. (A. A. W.) 



\i'iM;\i)i\ hi. 



The Rom k» Cathi >lic < 'm bch. 

The earliest account of any Roman Catholic Church 
Bervice tli.it we have been able t<» obtain, i>. that a Bervice 
vrasheld for the few Catholics in Uxbridge in the year I 
by tin- Rev. Patrick McGrath, of rlopkinton, in one <>t' 
the farm-laborer'fl tenements of the late Joseph Thayer, Esq. 

Uxbridge wea erected into r parish by the late Right R< s , 

J. B. FrrzPATRiCK, Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts ; 

and Rev. E. J. Sheridan \\:i- appointed pastor, August, 

The parish thru included the towns of Grafton, 

Millbury, Nbrthhridge, Douglas and Uxbridge. 

St Marj 'a Church, in I " x t ni< I i_ r » ■ . waa dedicated 1855 5 tl>«- 
sermon, on the occasion, being preached by Rev. Jam< - \. 
II il\.iHis\ Bishop of the Diocese of Maine. 

In M.i \ . 1867, Rev. Dennis O'Keefe wbb appointed pastor 
and remained one year, when In- wn& removed t>i Clinton, 
Mass. * 

In May, 1868, Rev. I>. F. Moras was appointed pastor, 
irho, in L870, caused t<> be built St. Patrick's, Wliitinsville. 

In 1871, Rev. II. L. Robinson nras appointed pastor, and 
in L876, St, Mary's Church was repaired and re-decorated at 
hi. 'ill, - present parish includes the towns of 
Uxbridge and Nbrthbridge. St. Patrick's in Whitinsville, 
Northbridge, vras built in L869. St. Mary's in Uxbridj 
the parish church. The \\li<>l<' number "t" souk in the parish 
i- about l'j"»". 



APPENDIX IV. 



The Methodist Episcopal Church. 

The first Methodist preaching in Uxbridge Centre began 
about September 1st, 1874. Some of the citizens, desiring 
to reach a class that was not hearing the Gospel, made 
arrangements with Rev. Mr. Merrill, then pastor of the 
M. E. Church, in Whitinsville, to preach in Taft's Hall on 
Sunday evenings ; and Mr. Merrill continued Ins services 
up to February 7th, 1875. 

Mr. F. T. Pomeroy, of Shrewsbury, a local preacher of 
the M. E. Church, succeeded Mr. Merrill, and remained 
here until April, 1877. His appointment was considered a 
mission of the Church. 

In the Autumn of 1875, a Sunday School and prayer and 
class meetings were initiated. The mission was formally 
organized as a Methodist Episcopal Church, with eight mem- 
bers, December 19th, 1875, by Rev. Dr. Haskell, .presiding 
elder of the Worcester district. 

Mr. Hunter, of the Boston University, succeeded Mr. 
Pomeroy, but soon left. He was succeeded by Rev. John 
W. Collier. He began his labors June 9, 1877, and closed 
them June 23d, 1878, to go as missionary to Peru, South 
America. He was an earnest, christian minister, abundant 
in his labors, and was eminently successful. For the 
remainder of the conference year, Rev. J. H. Thompson 
supplied the pulpit ; Mr. Thompson was returned to 



\ 111 \M\ IV. 1 1 1 

Qxbridge for the conference year l s 7'.' -80, which was the 
first appointment made here bj the Conferen 

In March, 1878, the society purchased of tli<- town, a- a 
site tor a church edifice, a lot in tin- old burying ground, in 
the centre <>t'ilir town. Subscription papers for the church 
were opened in January . 1879, and on April 1st, the amount 
pledged was |3,500. A plan foe the obnrefa baa been 
accepted, and the work of building baa begun. It is 
expected thai the church will be ready for use in January, 

Tin- nirini.ri--.liip is dow about 60.— J 
I I from th> account of Rev. Mr. Thompcon. Ed. 



APPENDIX V. 

Joseph Thayer, Esq. 

The death of this venerable gentleman occurred in Wor- 
cester, on Tuesday, January 9th, 1872. 

" Esq. Thayer," a title by which he was so well.known, 
was born in Douglas, in the year 1792, and was the last of 
a family consisting of three brothers and two sisters. He 
was fitted for college under the Rev. David Holman of 
Douglas, entered Brown University in 1811, and graduated 
in the class of 1815. Among his classmates were Rev. 
Jasper Adams, Rev. George Taft, Rev. Alvan Bond, Hon. 
Charles Turner, and others, who were men of standing and 
influence in their day and generation. Dr. John E. Hol- 
brook, the eminent physician and naturalist, who recently 
died, was at one time a room-mate of Mr. Thayer. 

After leaving college Mr. Thayer studied law with Hon. 
Levi Lincoln, in Worcester, and Hon. Bezaleel Taft, Jr., in 
Uxbridge. He commenced business in Uxbridge, about the 
year 1818, and from that time made Uxbridge his home. 
He married Chloe Taft, a daughter of Hon. Bezaleel Taft, a 
lady of rare intellect, and of a most pure, sweet and 
religious nature. For a number of years he was largely 
engaged in the practice of law, and in various business 
matters which found their way into his hands. Of rare 
financial ability, had his lot been cast in the midst of favor- 
able surroundings, according to the estimate of his cotem- 



Mil \|.|\ V. 

porariee, he wonld have beeo among the millionaires «>f the 
land. With do patrimony, he accumulated a pro] 
which woiiM have been considered largo at the time when, 
some twenty-five years ago, with tailing health, he sulwrtan- 
ii:ill\ retired from active business. Economical and thrifty, 
he was always remarkably read} to assist persons 03 loans 
and pecuniary aid, :ui<1 when h«' had once given his confi- 
dence, he was slow to withdraw it, and be Buffered loans to 
lie uncollected, apparently \v i 1 1 1< • 1 1 1 anxiety, n<>i according 
l<> the practice which is common among men of shrewdness 
and sagacity. The same spiril was apparenl in rel 
mimic of hi- poor tenants, who although comparatively pen- 
sioners upon his good-will, were rarely disturb* 
troubled. A man of large perceptions and calm, clear 
judgment, he relied much upon hi- own mental resources 
and rarely Bought tin' advice of any one else. His advice 
was much sought in municipal matters and he always t « >« ik 
:i deep interest in the honor and prosperity <>t" ih<' town 
of Oxbridge. Hi- intuitions were clear and distinct, and 
hi- mental faculties rarely failed when any emergency 
demanded their exercise. An illustration of bis -Kill in the 
management of nun i- related of him. He contracted t<> 
build m portion of the Providence and Worcester railroad, 
le;i<liiiL r through hi- farm. While the work was progressing 
the Irishmen struck for higher wag* - ing the workmen 
sitting around, Esq. Thayer informed the sub-contractor that 
he would attend to those fellows. He 1 to his 

house and taking the Riol \. t. i. ad it to the Irishmen with 
a loud voice and an impressive manner. Bj the time hi 
closed, each man hail seized hi- shovel anil proceeded to hi- 
15 



114 APPENDIX V. 

work ; one fellow suggesting to his neighbor in a low voice, 
" Be jabbers, I didn't know there was such a law as that in 
this country !" A characteristic anecdote is related of him 
by one who took part in a consultation between himself, 
Judge Barton and Esq. Thayer. The question related to a 
suit upon a certain bank note. Judge Barton suggested 
certain points of law. Esq. Thayer, losing all patience, 
exclaimed, " Ira, I tell you there ain't but one pint in the 
case. He must pay the note." In this case as in many 
others, his intuitions were correct in spite of nice questions 
of law which troubled those more learned and better lawyers 
than himself. 

By general consent he was elected a delegate from the 
town of Uxbridge to the Massachusetts Constitutional Con- 
vention in 1853. 

He was deeply interested in Freemasonry, was a member 
of the Royal Arch Chapter, and at one time was one of the 
most prominent men of the Order. 

He was a life-long democrat, and was formerly very 
influential in the counsels of the party ; still he never allowed 
his party feelings to interfere with his friendships, and he 
was loyal to the government in the great rebellion. When 
inquired of once why a near relative of his always voted the 
Whig ticket while he voted the Democratic ticket, his reply 
was, " why, God bless you, he was brought up in a Whig 
neighborhood." Would that the same amount of charity 
might always be exercised towards political opponents ! He 
was elected a representative from the town of Uxbridge for 
several years, and took a strong and active interest in the 
leading questions of the day, including banking, the Warren 



Mil \I'I\ V. 1 1.", 

hii.l fcc. II«' took an active pari in the construction 

of the Blackstone canal, and of the Providence and Wor- 
r railroad, having been one of the first dire* ton of the 
last-named corporation. 

II.' was fond "t' lii- classmatefl and friends ; and until his 
mind became somewhat clouded, was remarkably clear in 
hi- recollection of names, faces and dafc ibablv no 

man was better acquainted with men an. I affairs in the south 
pari "t" Worcester county than he was when blest with health 
and vigor. However differing from man) of the prominent 
men of his time, Ik- enjoyed their respeci an. I confidi 
II.' ha- passed away lull of years, and many whom he 
ha- befriended will bless hi- memory. II. C. 



APPENDIX VI. 



James Watson Robbins, M. D. 

James Watson Robbins, M. D., was born at Colebrook, 
Conn., November 18th, 1801, and died in this town, 
January 10th, 1879. His ancestors on his father's side, for 
several generations, were Orthodox clergymen. He was 
graduated at Yale College, in 1822, and stood amongst the 
foremost members of his class. For three or four years he 
taught in families in Virginia, and amongst those whom he 
fitted for West Point, was the famous Robert E. Lee, Com- 
mander-in-chief of the Confederate army, in the rebellion of 
1861. In Virginia, he began his botanical studies, a branch 
of natural science that he zealously pursued for the remainder 
of his life. He returned to Connecticut in 1825, and now 
entered upon his medical studies ; and in 1828 he received 
his degree of M. D. From May to November, 1829, in 
company with another botanist, he made a botanical journey 
through the New England States, and it was at this time 
that he met Dr. George Willard, of this town, and by him 
was persuaded to make Uxbridge his home. He formed a 
partnership with Dr. Willard, but it was soon dissolved. 
In 1836, he became a member of the Massachusetts Medical 
Society, and was twice elected delegate to the American 
Medical Association. From 1860 to 1864, he spent his 
time with certain mining companies, as physician and 



kPPl HTHJ \ I. 1 1 7 

Burgeon. In 1864 h<' made a botanical tour through Louisi- 
ana, Texas, Mexico and Culm; his former pupil, General 
' furnishing him with a pa-- .- 1 1 1 < 1 manj other facilities for 
passage and Bafe traveling through the rebel States. The 
Bufferings of his last sickness, which was not l"HL r , were borne 
with his uaual L r «"»<l nature and patience. Dr. Bobbins was 
unmarried, but he found a home with th<>-«' wh<> made him 
Buch m home as was perfectly congenial t<> him —with those 
who ministered to hi- ever) want and looked up t<» him 
with a genuine re\ erence. 

His medical Bcholarahip was profound and accurate; but 
it i- said, that »* a certain Borl of intuitive practical sense" 
was denied him. His specialty was botany : and for his 
studies in this line, h>' deserves our particular notice. II- re 
he had few superiors. Hi- acquaintance with the leading 
botanists of this country was wide, and it was also intimate. 
His correspondence was extensive with botanists in England, 
Prance, Germany and other lands. 1 1 « * probably had the 
iii- » — t complete private botanical library in the country, He 
kepi up his acquaintance with the classical languages; and 
read, wrote and -poke French and German, and could 
and w rite Italian and Spanish. 

In his practice, Dr. Bobbins believed thai in certain 
diseases much help was t«> !><• derived from mesmerism. 
He was also a believer in spiritualism and it was his dying 
faith. By hi- special request, Bev. A < lin Ballon, of II"p<- 
dale, conducted the funeral services In the Orthodox church, 
which was filled with his acquaintances and professional 
friends from ihi- and the neighlioring towns. — ( 

/ /'// ///< ( '« IMFENDI1 

J '< 7 / s/ A. / S 79. I <i '. 



APPENDIX Vn. 



J. Mason Macomber, M. D. 

Dr. Macomber was born in New Salem, Mass., October 
11th, 1811. In " early boyhood, be not only showed a fond- 
ness for books, but declared it his purpose to be educated. 
Save as he went a term or two to the New Salem Academy, 
he prepared himself for college as a solitary student, study- 
ing much of the time in his father's kitchen, and now and 
then teaching to obtain what means he must needs have 
under such circumstances. At the age of twenty, he 
entered Amherst College, where he remained one year, 
when he entered Brown University, where he graduated in 
the class of 1835." While in college, and to accommodate 
a friend, he came to Uxbridge and took charge of the 
Academy ; and now began his interest in the town which 
finally lead him to spend here the last years of his life. After 
leaving college, he taught in two or three academies, and in 
1841, he came again to this place. For ten years, but not 
continuously, he was principal of the Academy here. In 
1851, Mr. Macomber began the study of medicine, and 
was graduated from the New York Medical College in 1854. 
After leaving New York, he was for five or six years 
professor in the Pennsylvania Medical College in Philadel- 
phia ; and as occasion required, he assisted in filling the 
chairs of some of the other professors. 

Dr. Macomber had been married in 1838 to Miss 



.\rn.M'i\ \ ii. 1 L9 

S.-mili \. Lee, of Chester, M . and ii was while he 
professor in Philadelphia thai In- onlj son and child, < lharles 
i youth of great promise, 'Ii" 1 -! :it the :iL r «- of 18. The 
Doctor remained here after this Bad event for i year <>r two, 
l»ui a settled sorrow, combined with feeble health, resulted 
in his resignation, although the University would most 
willingly have retained him in its service. In 1861, li<- 
came again t<> reside in ilii- place, .• » 1 1 < 1 here he <li<<I. Feb- 
ruarj '.mIi. L881. EDs funeral services were held in the Uni- 
tarian Church, Sunday afternoon, February 13th, :i very 
large audience being present. 

Dr. Macomber was brought up a Baptist, and early in 
life he became a member of that church, and Bometimes 
preached in Baptist churches, while cnLr;iir<« i in teaching. 
His ancestral and accepted faith he gradually outgrew, and 
became one of " the most liberal of the liberal christians." 
The marked characteristic of his latter years was, :i deep 
interest in religious thought; and no one was ever freer in 
bis expression of 1 1 1 « - extremest views than he; — always 
readj to receive ne^ light and < 1< .i 1 1 ir his best t" impart it. 
Alter In- made Uxbridge his home; he was ;i constant 
attendant upon the Unitarian church, .*m<l as constant a 
member of the Bible class in its Sunday school, 
taking n leading part, with Bible in hand, in .-ill that was 
going on. In 1876, li<- was made a life member <>f the 
American Unitarian Association : and after the establishment 
<>f the Unitarian local conferences, he was often present at 
them :i- delegate, and frequently participated in their « i<t »:ii <•- 
with L r r«:it earnestn< ( mpiled by the 1 

obituary published in th( Compendu If. 



APPENDIX Vm. 



Jonathan Whipple. 

Jonathan Whipple was born near the spot now occupied by 
the railroad depot at Lonsdale, R.I. He was a hatter by trade 
and served his apprenticeship in Boston. In the year 1780, 
he lived in Douglas, and removed to Uxbridge in 1790. He 
was a man of much dignity of manner, exceedingly hospita- 
ble, and a thorough gentleman. When he lived in Douglas, 
there occurred the severe winter of 1780-81. Snow fell 
November 4th, 1780, on an average four feet in depth 
in Massachusetts. Water from the eaves did not drop for 
forty days. Friends on a visit staid six or eight weeks ; 
people were drawn on sleds to Mendon, where their horses 
staid during the winter ; marketers from Douglas went with 
hand-sleds to Boston, this being the only manner in which 
they could go. 

When General Lafayette was passing through New Eng- 
land in the time of the Revolutionary war, he called at Mr. 
Whipple's in Douglas, and being in want of two horses 
employed Mr. Whipple to get the horses for him. Mr. 
Whipple furnished his own horse and one belonging to a 
neighbor, and the General and his suite passed on. Three 
mouths went by and the horses were not returned. Learn- 
ing that General Lafayette was in Boston, Mr. Whipple 
went there and called upon him with a friend. The General 



\ 111 \M\ \ III. ] 21 

shaving up-staira bul immediately came down and 
inquired where he had met them. Mr. Whipple informed 
him thai h<- furnished him with tw<> horses three months 
before, which had Dot Itch returned t<> him. Said the 
General, •• li is not my Guilt, I »m the fault of m\ - 
tary. They shall be returned to yon, and I will compensate 
\i>u for the horses and pay you for your trouble;" :m<l 
he <ii'l bo i" Mr. Whipple's entire satisfaction. Mr. 
Whipple used t<> tell the story in his old age with great 
interest. When General Lafayette visited this country in 
1825, and was at the laying of tin- corner-stone at Bunker 
Hill. Mr. Whipple t<>'>u especial pains t<> call upon him; 
and after he had shaken hands with him, told him that 

I nee lent him two horses. Upon this the General gave 

him a second good shake "t" the hand, and Mr. Whipple left 
him, highl) gratified with tin- greeting; and from this time 
onward, h<- always related the story «•!' the second interview 
as an interesting appendix t<> the first. 

Mr. Whipple had ;• strong tendency t<> colled all sorts of 
articles with which t<» Bupplj his customers. No person 
who ever had an opportunity t<> observe hi- collection in the 
upper Btory of th<' old shop that he occupied, will be likely 
t" forget it. It was a common saying, that one could n>>t 
ask for .-my article which Mr. Whipple could not supply. 
To test the accuracy <>i' the statement, two friends called for 
e yokes, and were surprised t" find that thej were 
at once furnished. 

Mr. Whipple married Mar} Jennison, a daughter of Dr. 

William Jennison, \\ln> practiced hi- profession in Mendon, 

and Brookfield. Ajnong th<' children, were twin 



122 APPENDIX VIII. 

brothers, who were born October 31, 1777, soon after the 
surrender of Burgoyne, and who, at the urgent request of 
their grandfather, were christened Liberty and Independence. 
The sympathy between these two brothers was very remark- 
able. When either of them spoke of any other brother, it 
was, " brother Charles," or " brother Henry," or " brother 
William ;" but when he spoke of his twin brother, it was 
always simply, " brother." The resemblance in their per- 
sonal appearance was very striking, and it required an in- 
timate acquaintance to prevent mistakes in their identity. 

When Independence Whipple was eleven years old, an 
incident occurred which made a very strong impression 
upon liim. Standing in the road near his father's house in 
Douglas, he saw the equipage of Gen. Washington, which 
proceeded in the following order : — 

1st. A gentleman in uniform on a beautiful dapple-gray 
horse. 

2d. Two aids in uniform on dapple-gray horses. 

3d. Bay horses with two negro boys as riders ; the 
horses being attached to a travelling carriage in which sate 
Gen. Washington. 

4th. The baggage wagon, drawn by two horses. 

The boy with his native politeness exchanged salutations 
with the General, and never forgot the meeting, nor the 
illustrious man whom he so deeply venerated. H. C. 



AlM'IAhlX IX. 



Kuiii Brown. 



Klilm Brown was born in Douglas, and died in Uxbridge 
in 1840, aged 79 years. 1 1 « - married Nancy Thwing of 
Douglas, who died the year before her husband al the a^ 
F6. Mr. Brown at first hired the house formerly occu- 
pied l'.\ Mr. Royal Jepherson, and afterwards purchased the 
estate. He waa :i blacksmith, and once occupied m ahop 
th.it stood where die Academy building now stands. Mr. 
Brown resided in the Jepherson house until :t year or two 
previous t<> his death, when he sold the estate in order to 
|i:i\ .1 dclii which he waa determined t<» pay, although he 
was not pressed for the payment. He afterwards moved 
back to the house, and occupied it a short time as a tenant : 
lmi he finally died in the Esq. A.dams house, where he 
was living with his son, Capt. Pemberton Brown. He was 
found dead in hi- bed, having apparently died without :i 
struggle. 

Mi. Brown was a man of strong common sense, sterling 
honesty, excellent judgment ; he waa one who said what he 
meant, and meanl what be said. He did considerable town 
business and hi> opinion waa rrequentlj sought and foil* 
'm ill.' affairs of the i<>\\n and neighborhood. He lived 
respected and honored, and died sincerely lamented by 
those « h" knew him. II 1 



APPENDIX X. 



Oesmus Taft. 



Mr. Orsmus Taft died at his home, in this town, July 
8th, 1880. Here he was born on January 1st, 1795, and 
here, too, he spent his life, with the exception of nine or 
ten years, when he was engaged in business elsewhere. Mr. 
Taft left the ancestral farm, in the easterly part of the town, 
when he was eleven years of age, to enter the woolen mill of 
Daniel Day, the first mill started in this place — and he 
always believed that he was the first Yankee to learn to 
weave satinet. With Mr. Day he spent seven years — the 
old term, in New England, of serving one's apprenticeship 
at a trade. From 1819 to 1822, he was engaged in this 
mill as a partner. In 1824, he had charge of the carding 
and spinning department of the " Capron Mill." When the 
Uxbridge Woolen Mill was started in 1825, he was inter- 
ested in it as owner, and also held the position of agent for 
it. In 1838, he sold his share in it to Edward Seagrave. 
He soon formed a partnership with his nephew, Robert 
Taft, and opened a store. His interest in this continued 
until 1844, when he sold out to his nephew, and was not a 
resident of the place again until 1853, when he was made 
station-agent of the Providence and Worcester railroad. This 
position he held for ten years, when he gave up business 



Mil \I>I\ \. 1 _'.'i 

altogether, and paMHcd the remainder of his life in the quiet 
of lii- home, surrounded l>_\ hi- family, that ever 
thoughtfully and generously cared for his wants. Thus 
quietly, cheerfully, always interested in local, national 
and church aflairs, li«' came to lii- end. 

•• l In ■ rful hfl -' i\'- lii- !>• i"-' DP, :in.| Wi lit. 

i ■ -i thai w .iii- i lift w( ii -|- hi." 

Mr. T;ift \\:i- lineally descended from Rolwrl Taft, the 
early settler of Mendon. The order of succession 
Robert ; Robert, Jr. ; Israel ; Jacob ; Jacob, Jr. ; < trsmus. 

On the 28th of October, L821, Mr. Tan" married Margaret 
Smith, of Mendon, \\ln> survives him. Of ;i large number 
of children, eight are n<>\\ li\inL r . either in tlii- town, or in 
Providence, R. I. Compiled by the Editor from "n 
obituary notia in flu Compendii m, July, / s ~ 



APPENDIX XI. 



The Wood Family. 

About a mile and a half north-east from the meeting- 
house, is what is known as "the city." It consists of a few 
houses near the entrance of what is known as the Pudding 1 
street road. This road leads to the town of Upton, and is 
reported to have received its name from the fact, that on a 
certain occasion, all the inhabitants had pudding for dinner. 
Whether the tradition is correct or not, the name is as well 
defined and understood as Beacon street, or Pennsylvania 
avenue. The large house on the north side of the old 
Hartford and Boston turnpike, and easterly of the road 
above referred to, was built on the spot where there was 
once a tavern, probably one of the earliest in town, kept by 
Mr. Ezekiel Wood, the father of the wife of Captain Emory 

Wood, and grand father of Wheelock Wood and 

Wood, who formerly resided upon the spot. The house 
was burned after it was given up as a hotel. Few facts are 
now known of this hotel, or its owner. It is said, that 
before insurance was common in this neighborhood, the 
barn of Mr. Ezekiel Wood, the former hotel-keeper, was 
burned. According to the custom of the time, a subscrip- 
tion was made ; and among the subscribers was Captain 
Samuel Reed who subscribed ten dollars. When Captain 
Reed called to pay his subscription, Mr. Wood said 



\ 111 M'l\ \l. 1 _'7 

thoughtlessly, but not very complimentary to the giver, •• I 
suppose I should 1 1 « • t have had 1 1 1 i — , had ii do! been for Mr. 
John Capron." Captain Reed lieing m rather high-spirited 
man, ted that it Mi. Capron was to have the credit 

<>t his subscription, he should hardrj subscribe a second 
time. Yei how natural it is at times to ascribe an act 
wrong motive, and to fancj that a kindness has not • • 'iin- 
from the dictates of the heart «»t" the our who does the 
kindness, but from -< >hm- outside influence. The "city" 
was not iIm- result of anv particular business, bul was a set- 
tlement of some members < >t' < >1« 1 families, who 1 » 1 1 i 1 1 their 
houses in the vicinity of the old homestead. 

From Mr. Blias Wheefock, who was brought up in the 
eastern pari of the town, and married a daughter of Mr. 
Samuel Wood, I learned that Dexter Wood, — the lath. 
Samuel and Uncle Ezekie] Wood, as we used to call him, — 
and K/.-kit-l Wood who kept the hotel at the "city , w were 
brothers. Dexter lived on the Pudding street road, in the 
house now occupied by Jam< - S. Farnum and formerly 
occupied bj Samuel W 1 and Amariah A. Wood. David 

I. with whom Mr. Wheelock was brought up, Lived in 
the house formerly owned by Luke Taft, and more recently 
bj Ainariali A. Wood. David Wood was a brother of 
Solomon Wood. who formerly lived in Mendon, and was 
the hither of the late Obadiah Wood of Milford; was also 
the hither of th<- late Nathan Wood of Milford, familiarly 
known, as '• Uncle Nathan." Mrs. Lake Tafl and Mrs, 
Reuben Wood were daughters of David W 1. Josiah 

I formerly lived on the place now occupied by Luke 
S. Parnum. He was the tat! Sumner Wood, Captain 



128 APPENDIX XI. 

Emory Wood, Mrs. Daniel Carpenter, Mrs. Cummings, the 
mother of Josiah Cummings, and others. Dexter Wood 
and Ezekiel Wood were brothers-in-law to Col. Ezra Wood 
of Upton, the father of Mrs. Col. Fletcher of Northbridge, 
and Mrs. Frederic Taft of Uxbridge. Mr. Wheelock is 
unable to give the name of the father of Josiah Wood, but 
my opinion is, he was a brother of Col. Ezra Wood above 
named. From Mr. Wheelock, I learn further, that Josiah 
Wood was a Universalist ; that he had frequently heard him 
announce at the old meeting-house in Uxbridge, that a 
Universalist meeting would be held at — and time and 
place were mentioned. He also informed me, that David 
Wood, Solomon Wood and Obadiah Wood, the above named 
brothers, lived in different towns and that each resided 
at the end of the road that led to his house. It must be 
quite a convenience to know that a traveller is coming to see 
you. This can generally be accomplished by living at the 
end of the road. The large house, on the old turnpike 
west of the Pudding street road, was formerly owned by a 
family by the name of Rist. One of the sons was a 
bachelor ; one was Thaddeus Rist, the father of Judge Rist, 
who died in Alabama; and Esbon C. Rist, who died in 
Uxbridge. The red house, formerly owned by Dea. Bul- 
lard, was built by Hatter Ezekiel Wood, so called, who 
formerly lived a short distance beyond the Daniel Farnum 
place. "Hatter" Ezekiel was the son of Ezekiel Wood and 
a half-brother of the wife of Capt. Emory Wood. 

Reuben Wood was not a native of Uxbridge, but came 
from the State of Vermont. The relationship between his 
children and the Luke Taft family came by way of their 
mother. H. C. 



AIMM.NMX XII. 



li:< >\-i. >N1 



The Village of [ronstone i- situated <>n Forgo Brook in 
the south part of Oxbridge. The Brook takes its name 
from the fact, tlmt about one hundred and fortj y< 
Benjamin Tuft erected a forge and dam there, and the dam 
of the Ironstone Factorj pond is but an enlargement of the 
first one. "Forge Brook" is mentioned in the town records 
of 1734. A few years previous to 1800, (history nor tradi- 
tion i- very clear about the date), there were a saw-mill and 
trip-hammer -hop near the 1 1 «■.-:■ I < • t " Ironstone pond, which 
was occupied by Caleb Bandy. Tradition says li«' made 
guns, scythes and other useful articles. In 1813, William 

i, -"ii of Miles Bacon, who was man} go the old 

rn-keeper at Slatersville, purchased the privilege 
Samuel Buxton. Mr. Bacon first put in a spinning frame or 
two, and -pun <-..tt<in yarn for the late John Slater of Slaters- 
ville, K. I. Mr. Bacon subsequently erected n foundry at 

tin- place; and in 1823 and '24 made satinet power-lo -: 

:il-", castings for Col. Joseph Ra} of Mendon. 

I [ Brook has two branches. The south branch 
n<> name, or history, except that Seth Wheelock in 1824 
or '25, put up m building there for carding wool into rolls 
for the ncighl>oring farmers. The other branch is called 

tdstone Brook," because the Btone upon its margin was 

I 7 



130 APPENDIX XII. 

good for various purposes. Here, Thomas B. Shove, pre- 
vious to 1800, erected a blacksmith shop and set up a trip- 
hammer, nearly on the site of the shop of the late Daniel H. 
Aldrich. 

Ironstone Factory was built in 1815. It was a company 
enterprise, the stock being divided into thirty-two shares, 
without any determined value. Dr. Ezekiel Comstock 
subscribed for eleven shares ; Daniel Jencks ten shares ; 
Joseph Smith one share ; Moses Farnum live shares ; Wil- 
liam Arnold three shares, and Tillson Aldrich two shares. 
The three last named stockholders were citizens of 
Uxbridge. The first cotton yarn both spun and wove in 
Uxbridge was from this mill. This yarn was woven into 
cloth at home by the "fly-shuttle" loom, of which improve- 
ment in weaving, David Knight of Smithfield, R. I., was 
the inventor. This mode of weaving cloth directed the 
attention of Moses and Darius D. Farnum to manufacturing 
pursuits. The first superintendent of the mill was Tillson 
Aldrich. About 1820, William Arnold became the owner 
of the Ironstone manufacturing property. He increased 
the water-power by the erection of a reservoir of considera- 
ble dimensions ; built two tenement houses and a store ; and 
through his influence a post-office was opened, — John Brad- 
ley, of stage-driving fame, bringing and carrying the 
mails. Mr. Arnold manufactured cotton cloth for several 
years, and in 1832 the factory was burned. The factory 
property passed from William Arnold to Samuel Shove ; 
from Mr. Shove to Jonathan F. Southwick ; from Mr. 
Southwick, one-half to Albert Fairbanks, the other half to 
Charles A. Messinger. The factory was rebuilt, and Fair- 



\i-ri \m\ \n. 131 

banks and Mcssingcr manufactured Kentucky jean 
some yean. Alter the decease "!' Mr. Fairtmnks, tin- 
property passe I im<> the hands of Mcsi*inger and I 
The factory was burned again in 1865, and in IStift, the 
propertj was purchased of Messinger and Esty, l-\ M< 
.1. < '. Keith and ('<>., who bought, al the same tin 
Jonathan F. Southwick, the mill below. John C. Scott, of 
Millville, -""ii purchased of Mr. Keith his share of the 
property, and Mr. Scott and Stephen II. Benson became 
the "\\ uers of it. 

II. < .. wi> Km I- •!:. 



APPENDIX XIII. 



Manufacturing. 

It is well known that Samuel Slater, about 1700, was the 
first to manufacture cotton goods in this country ; but it is 
not so generally known, that John and Arthur Schofield, who 
came from England in March, 1793, introduced the manu- 
facture of woolen goods ; an interesting account of which may 
be found in a Report made in 1871, to the " Rhode Island 
Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry," by 
Royal C. Taft, of Providence, R. I. 

In this report, Mr. Taft takes notice that it was begun in 
Uxbridge by Daniel Day ; but no account of it appears in 
the very elaborate " History of American Manufactures 
from 1(308 to 1860," by J. Lander Bishop, A.M., M.D., 
Philadelphia, 1864. It might reasonably be expected that 
Mr. Taft would do justice to his native town about a matter 
of this kind, in which his father and all his relatives have 
been so actively engaged. 

He says : 

"In 1809, Daniel Day built his first mill in Uxbridge, 
Mass., size twenty by forty feet, two stories high, and in 
the same year put in a carding machine and picker for the 
purpose of carding rolls for home manufacture. In the 
spring of 1811, he built an addition to the mill of twenty- 
five by thirty toot, three stories high, and in July put in a 
billy and jenny for spinning. In September, he added a 
hand-loom; early in 1812, he put in another loom, and dur- 



MII.M'IX Mil. 

ing the year added throe more, making ii\<' looms in all. 
The same kind ofa picker \\a- uaed as i- in use ;it the pres- 
ent time. It was operated bv a picker-string attached 
pickor-stick hold in the hand, while the harnessed were 
operated by the feel of the weai er." 

Bj "the Bame kind <>(' ■ picker," etc., La meant the 
mechanism used by the weaver to throw the shuttle. This 
•« same kind " mighl equally well '"■ applied to the picker 
mentioned in connection with the carding machine, there 
being ii" practical difference in the operation <<\ the common 
wool-picker of to-daj and then, l>ui much difference in the 
mechanical perfection of its construction. 

S me three years since, in looking over some old papers 
of in\ father's which came into mj hands on the d< 
ni\ mother, 1 found a receipl of which the following i- m 
.m|,\ : 

■• I " \ i ■. i . 1 1 .. . i . August 27th, 1811. 
Rec'd of Jerrj Wneelock seventy-five dollars in part pay- 
ment for the picking and carding machine I have lately 
built and put in opperation in the Bhop of Mr. Daniel 
in I Abridge. Aim i.m L8 I >im DEN, Jr." 

Here we have a glimpse of the beginning of the woolen 
manufacture in Uxbridge; and, as I believe, of the first 
woolen carding machine and picker built in Won 
county. I .nil inclined to think from Dryden's receipt, and 
from some papers 1 have examined in which some account <>f 
tlii- machinery would be likely i" appear, had it- date been 
:1\ as 1809, that the date given bj Mr. Tan" should be 
1810, instead of 1809; L810, was the year in which the first 
mill was l»uilt. as 1 have been informed both '»> m\ t*it Inr 
and 1 1 in mother. I prefer t<> claim the earlier date, but \\itli 
the knowledge I have, I cannot do it. 



134 APPENDIX XIII. 

In this same year, 1810, as I was told by Charles A. 
Thwing, now deceased, in a conversation I had with him 
several years since, the first movement was made towards 
the manufacturing of cotton goods in Uxbridge. This was 
first seen in building the works of the "Uxbridge Cotton 
Mills" in that year by Mr. Clapp, — Ebenezer, I presume, as 
I find his name somewhat prominent then in town matters. 
This statement, if correct, and I have no doubt it is so, as 
Mr. Thwing was a native of North Uxbridge, and almost 
always a resident there, as his father was, and was of suffi- 
cient age to have some slight recollection of operations so 
prominent as these must have been — this statement shows 
the beginning of the cotton and woolen manufacture in this 
town to be co-eval. 

The billy and spinning jenny were made by Arthur Scho- 
field, of Pittsfield, Mass. Mr. Schofield, with his brother 
John, built and put into operation a carding machine in By- 
field, Mass., in 1793, which was the first one erected in this 
country. 

The ' ' old billy ! " Does any one remember it, and its top- 
roll which would at times come a little too close to the heads 
of those boys and girls who were always faithful to their 
work ? 

As all the weaving at this time was done on hand-looms 
for some years after the erection of this mill, looms were set 
up in houses and in shops built for the purpose, till they be- 
came almost as common as were the shoe-shops a few years 
since. 

Sometimes, jennies were set up for the purpose of spin- 
ning the yarn used for filling. The principal goods made 



\ri-r.\i.i\ \iii. 

being satinet, the warp nru of »-« »i t« »ii yarn obtained at tli<- 
cotton mills. Of course, the yarn used for filling (or the 
roping when the spinning \\:i- done in the shops) was pro- 
eared :it the mills where there were carding machines. 

The embargo, and the war with England following, 
:i demand for manufactured goods which the Yankee nation 
was not -l"\\ to endeavor to supply ; and aa a consequence, it 
suffered for being too eagei t" make money on the closing 
of the war and the re-establishment of commercial relations 
with England. 

The next attempt at woolen manufacturing was made by 
the Rivulel Manufacturing Company, which was incorpora- 
ted in 1816, although ilx- company was formed and build- 
ings erected in 181 1, and tli«' business of manunvcturing \\:i^ 
begun in the winter of 181 I and "1">. The capital paid in 
was $14,000; the shares weir $500 each. It was agreed 
thai no dividend should 1"' paid until the expiration of eight 
years, a most wise provision to make in this instance. \ 
a matter of fact, n<> dividend waa ever |>:ii.l : and when tin- 
business was closed up, the stockholders received little, it" 
any, more than half the amount paid in and \\ ithout interest. 

I- tin- question asked, VVhy was tin- act <>t" incorporation 
delayed bo long, or why was the oompanj incorporated at 
all, <>r what advantage was it t<> the individual members of 
the company? When the company entered upon it- busi- 
. it was found necessary, ns it frequently is now, to 
-- of 1 1>\ i" collect accounts for goods sold. To l> 
a — 1 1 i t required the name of every member of an on-incor- 
porated company t<> appear in the writ. Any failure in tlii-* 
t would invalidate the writ and make it \ !■> 



136 APPENDIX XIII. 

begin again. In the meantime, the debtor had an oppor- 
tunity to put his property into the hands of a favored credi- 
tor, but an act of incorporation enabled a company to do 
business by an agent ; to sue and be sued ; but gave indi- 
vidual corporators no advantages whatever, above what they 
would have enjoyed as simple corporators. It thus became a 
simple co-operative association, with power to act by an 
agent instead of being obliged to act by all the members of 
the company. 

The original members of the company were, Daniel Car- 
penter, Samuel Read, Ephraim Spring, Alpheus Baylies, 
John Capron, Jerry Wheelock, Samuel Judson, Joseph H. 
Perry, Thomas Farnum and Esband Newell. The two last- 
named persons, I think, soon surrendered their shares to 
the other members of the company. Daniel Carpenter was 
a merchant, and had been engaged in trade outside of an 
ordinary country merchant's trade, which well fitted him 
for the position he was now to assume — that of agent. 
Samuel Read was a farmer, hotel-keeper, and owner 
of the privilege on which the mill was to be built. Eph- 
raim Spring was also a farmer, and owner of real estate 
available for business purposes, besides having a son desir- 
ous of becoming a manufacturer in some of its branches. 
Alpheus Baylies was a farmer with sons who wished to be- 
come manufacturers. John Capron was a clothier by trade, 
cloth-finisher and dyer, whose proposition to the company 
will appear by-and-by. Jerry Wheelock was a mechanic, 
and one of the original Daniel Day company, and well 
acquainted with the construction and operation of machinery, 
and with the management of stock, which would fit him for 



\rri nm\ mil 1.7 

tin- place "i Superintendent. Rev. Samuel Judson, the 

< 'i. 'j-.iliMii.il mini ~t < r, vras, BO btf M I IdlOW, tin 1 <>nly 

man who might be considered a * ; 1 1 • i t .- 1 1 i - 1 . Il<- joined the 
company for th<- sake of the profits from his investment, 
and b poor investment ii proved. Joseph II. Perrj i 
young man who came from Dudley, Mass., and had m >y 

enough to take a -liaif in the «•« > 1 1 1 1 »an\ and liavr an oppor- 
tunity to Irani b trade. These men were all <>f moderate 
means, of sterling integrity and good business qualifications 
and intelligence. Surely such men were, and are now, tin- 
\.i\ men and the onlj men tit to try the co-operative princi- 
ple in business. This was a co-operative association — 
nothing more, nothing less. 

John Capron oame t<> (Jxbridge near the close of the last 
century. The tir-t mention of his name that I have noticed 
on the town books, is as one of the committee t<> superin- 
tend the building of the school-houses of L797. II«- bad 
acquired the trade of a custom clothier at the Cargill mill in 
Pomfret, now Putnam, Conn. Be purchased the Col. I 
estate and water-power, and Bet up the business of finishing 
the cloth woven in families in this ricinity. This will 
account for the following proposition : 

■ \t an adjourned meeting of the Rivulet Manufacturing 
Company, holden January 3d, 1815, at Capt Samuel 
-. I wade the following proposition t<> th<- meeting in 
order t<> join said company, \i/.. thai I would take shares 
to the amount oi I >2,000, or $2,500, and give 

my note to the company <»n interest ; then t<> do the dyeing 
of all the wool and the dressing <-t' all the cloth for 1 1 1 * - com- 
pany, at the common price of doing the same, till I had paid 
for as many shares as the} - 1 1 « »i » 1 « t choose I should take with 
them, and that all charges for the Bams should be endi 



138 APPENDIX XIII. 

on my note at the end of every ninety days from the begin- 
ning till the whole be paid ; that I should then be entitled 
to the same value of dyeing and dressing cloth, for which 
said company are to pay me at the end of every ninety days ; 
that is to say, that I shall do or cause to be done, in man- 
ner as above stated, work to the value of $5,000 in the 
whole. 

Then it was voted unanimously that I should take five 
shares, being the highest sum I had proposed, and in every 
respect agreeable to the foregoing proposition. 

Uxbridge, March 24th, 1815. Joiin Capron." 

It is therefore easy to be seen why John Capron became 
a co-operator in this company. 

Artemas Dryden, Jr., made the carding machine and 
picker for this company ; and John and George Carpenter 
of this town built the billy and jennies, — the first machinery 
built in this town, unless they had previously built a jenny 
for Daniel Day. The weaving was all done by hand-looms, 
and the goods were chiefly satinets, although some broad- 
cloths and cassimeres were made. 

Cotton manufacturing kept pace with the woolen ; and 
this same year, 1814, the Ironstone Mill was built, on Iron- 
stone Brook, in the south part of the town, by William 
Arnold and others. There had been, somewhere on this 
brook in former years, a forge, and an excellent quality of 
iron was made from the bog iron-ore found in the vicinity. 
I have heard Elihu Brown, a blacksmith well qualified to 
judge, and who carried on the business in Uxbridge thirty 
years or more, say, that the best iron he ever used came 
from that forge. This iron-making gave the name to the 

O CO 

brook and village. Only a small amount of ore was found 
here, and of course the forge was abandoned. 



UTI \M\ Mil. 

I have made thus far do iin-iit i< >n of the finishing of 
woolen goods, except in the proposition of John Capron, 
already quoted. This was then, as now, a very important 
part "t" the work <>t" manufacturing, and at that time tin- 
most of it was done by Mr. Capron. Som< how- 

ever, were finished by other persons. I have found among 
the "l<l papers before mentioned, a bill of Benjamin t 
gin of Douglas, : t !_rn i 1 1 -t Daniel Day and Company 
September 23d, 181 

•• For I hressing "_' I vds. wool cloth, 

\. Blue, at ,00 

For Fulling ana Dressing 174 

yds. Satinet, at ,40 



$9,40." 



The above prices for finishing are as much as 1 1 1» ■ entire 
price of manuhicturing has been, except during the war, 
for the last twenty \ ears. 

Attn- this time, for a few years, there were n<» mills 
erected in this town, but important improvements were 
made in the construction of machinery. 

( )n the expiration of the contract with John Capron, tin* 
Rivulet company proceeded t<> put in finishing machinery, 
and among other things a shearing machine with a revolv- 
ing blade, or cutter, t<> !»«• driven by power, then a n 
invention of William II • of Worcester. It would be a 
great curiosity to see the shears used previous t<« this inven- 
tion of Bovey. No one of the present day would have 
an) conception "t" what it was for, <>r how it was t<> l><- 
used. I never saw but one pair, and 1 1 i:it was when I 
[uite young. It was n<>t then in use, and I •■••m L r i\<- 
ii" description of it. 



140 APPENDIX XIII. 

The bobbin winder came into use during this period, by 
which one person could wind as many bobbins as six or 
eight could do on the old quill-wheel. The bobbin winder 
was not long used, for it was soon found that the yarn 
might as well be spun and run directly upon the bobbin, as 
to run it upon a cop (as it was called) , and then wind it 
upon the bobbin. 

The napping machine came next, much the most import- 
ant invention then made. Previous to the introduction of 
this machine, the nap of woolen, and other kinds of cloth, 
was raised by means of jacks — that is, cards similar in form 
but smaller and closer set than the hand-cards for carding 
cotton or wool, that at the present day may sometimes be 
found. The cloth was stretched tightly on a frame and the 
operator raised the nap by drawing the card lengthways 
upon it. This was a hard and slow process, and required 
much skill and care on the part of the workmen to produce 
a smooth and equal nap over the piece, without leaving any 
tender spots in the goods. I should add that teasels were 
also set in " hands," as I think they were called, and used 
in the same manner as the jacks. Some time in the sum- 
mer of 1819, Luke Baker, from Putney, Vermont, came to 
my father's with a new machine for doing this work by 
means of a revolving cylinder, on which the cards or teasels 
were to be fixed, to be operated by power, the cloth to pass 
backward and forward under the cylinder, and in contact 
with the cards, or teasels, and thus by a continuous process 
raising the nap more rapidly, producing as good a face and 
with more certainty than could the most skillful workman. 
My father took a license from Mr. Baker to make and to 



All! M'l\ Mil. 1 I 1 

■ell tin- machines, and bnmediaterj entered upon the busi- 
ng-- of tiu-ir manufacture and sale. The Dew machines 
went into immediate use in most of the mill- of the county, 
and in EUiode [aland, where be was authorized i<» sell tl 
Wno the inventor of this machine was, I oever km 
think it was probabrj :i "Yankee notion/* as in a letter from 
Mr. Baker, written in January, 1827, I find the follow] 

•• I have lateli been acquainted with an Englishman who 
has worked in England for many years in the business of 
manufacturing woolen cloth; he informs me that In- never 
■aw a oapping machine that worked both ways (backward 
and forward), either with cards or teasels, until he came t<> 
this country ."' 

I think this i- tolerable evidence that it was b V 
invention. \\<>\\ onlikely that a Yankee would work all 
<la\ scratching cloth with the -mall result gained by the old 
process] On the contrary, the English workman has ah 
been willing t<> use the Bame machine, t<> do a- hi- father 
ami grandfather have <l<mc before him, until fiurrj fi 
from it by circumstances over which he ha- no control. 

The next mill built was the Capron mill, thirty-three by 
sixty feet, and three stories high. I think it must have 
been built in 1821 (perhaps in 1820), and it went into 
operation in the winter of L821 and '22, or the Bpru 
1822. It was started with one -<t <■!' cards, made by 
Artemas Dryden, Jr.; one billj of fortj spindles; two 
jennies of one hundred and twenty spindles each, buih by 
the M I irpenter ; two cotton spinning-frames of sixty- 

four spindlee each, with the preparation ami a warpei 
dreeser for making satinet warps; and twelve power satinet 



142 APPENDIX XIII. 

looms ; — the first satinet power-looms ever built, it has been 
said. The engineer, in the construction of this mill, was 
Luke Jillson, of Cumberland, R. I., who was, as I have 
reason to believe, the planner of the looms, which were 
built on the premises. 

I do not know who built the cotton machinery. In 1824, 
an addition of a set of cards, built by Dry den ; a billy of 
fifty spindles, and a jenny of a hundred and twenty spin- 
dles, built by the Messrs. Carpenter; a jenny of one hun- 
dred and fifty spindles, built by Jerry Wheelock ; eight sati- 
net looms, two cotton cards, and two spinning frames of 
sixty-four spindles each, built by Armsby and Arnold of 
Woonsocket, R. I., were made. These looms were of an 
entirely different construction from those built by Jillson, 
and were used in mills for some twenty-five or thirty years. 
There was no real difference in the construction of the other 
machinery used, but the number of spindles in the billy and 
jenny was increased. 

In the autumn of this year, the dams were built for the 
Luke Taft mill, — now Wheelock's, — and the Uxbridge 
Woolen, — now W. D. Davis', — also to carry the water of 
the West River to the mill of Mr. Day. The next year, 
1825, witnessed the erection of the Luke Taft mill, thirty- 
four by sixty feet, three stories high ; the Uxbridge Woolen 
mill, thirty-six by eighty feet, three stories high; and an 
addition to the Day mill, making it forty by forty-five feet, 
three stories high. Two sets of cards, built by Dry den, were 
put into the Taft mill, with roping and spinning machinery 
equivalent, and twenty power satinet looms of the Jillson 
style, with some slight improvement, Paine and Ray makers ; 



\ITI M-l\ Mil. 

itii satinet looms bj ili«' same makers, in the Daj mill, 
cards being already in that mill: and in the Uxbi 
Woolen mill, t\\. rda bj Dryden; two billies, 

fortj spindles each ; two warp jennies, eight} spindles each ; 
two filling jennies of a hundred :m< t twent) spindles each, 
made by Wheelock : and ten power cassimere looms, made 
l>\ Paine and Ray. TarVs and Day's mills were started in 
tin- winte? of L825, and the Oxbridge Woolen mill late in 
the autumn of I 826. 

In August, 1 n -^. the [Jxbridge Woolen mill was burned; 
and within a week, ■ woolen mill was burned in Milford and 
another in East Douglas. Much alarm was fell bj manu- 
facturers at so sudden a destruction of factory property, 
and in a way they were unprepared t«> account for. It was 
a time when the country had become much excited on the 
Bubject of duties for the protection of domestic industry, 
udden and unaccountable were these fires, that the 
opinion was expressed 03 some, that the English manufac- 
turers had emissaries here \\li<> were to burn tli<- woolen 
mills, recollecting the <>1<I threat of the British minister, 
that " he would not allow America t<> make a hob-nail.'' 
Of course, there was do occasion for these surmise 
these fires were undoubtedly cases of spontaneous combus- 
tion. Tin' Oxbridge" Woolen mill was immediately re-built, 
fbrtj by eighty feet, three stories high, with an attic, and 
built of briek. 

The new machinery placed in this mill shows 1 1 j « - pro- 
ulii.li had been made in the manufacture of woolen 
croods. After the original mill was built, and l>< 
the erection of the n< u one, the Goulding patent for 



144 APPENDIX XIII. 

improvement in carding and spinning wool had been so far 
perfected, that it was coming into general use. 

[Mr. Wheelock here gives a description of the old and 
the new methods of carding and spinning, which, if we were 
giving a history of manufacturing, would find a welcome 
place : but we reluctantly feel compelled to omit it. — Ed.] 

The change made from the old to the new methods of 
carding and spinning, allowed wider carding machines 
to be used ; and nearly all that are now made are 
double the width of those used under the old regime 
"How so?" you ask. Because no child, eight or ten 
years old, could take up more than a handful of rolls about 
two feet long, and hold them so as not to drag on the 
floor, but by raising the arm so high as to make it very 
fatiguing ; while to let them drag on the floor would stretch 
the rolls so as to spoil the evenness of the yarn. So in 
carding ; the work of two hands was done by one ; besides 
power was saved, as there could be but half the number 
of bearings to make friction. Again, it would save the 
work of a man to run the billy, and of three children to 
piece rolls, who ought not to be in the mills under any cir- 
cumstances. In the interest of the children then, it was a 
great and much needed improvement. 

There was another improvement that came into use at 
this time ; and it had been used in the Uxbridge Woolen 
mill about a month, when the mill was burned. I refer 
to the woolen warper and dresser, by which the process 
of making and sizing the warps to prepare them for the 
looms was done by machinery, instead of by hand, as 
formerly, thereby saving certainly one man's labor. 



\iti \m\ \iii. 1 l.'i 

Tin' carding and spinning machinery in the nen woolen 
mill was made by Washburn and Goddard <>i Worn 
\\h<>, :i short time previous i" tin-, had established the 
business of building woolen machinery. The) wen 
of enterprise and ingenuity, and provided themselves with 
the best t< >< »1- ami the mosl desirable patterns for machinery, 
Mini the) soon <li<l the most of thai kind of work, which for 
man) years had been <l<»nr b) Dry den. Joseph Day now 
doubled hi- machinery, putting in tin- ( ; < • 1 1 1 - 1 i n i. r patenl : the 
carding machines were made b) Washburn and Goddard, 
tin- spinning jacks b) Jerr) VVheelock, and the looms by 
the Messrs. ( Carpenter. 

The disastrous times of 1828 and '29, together with the 
large investments made in the Blackstone Canal, which 
proved a wholly unproductive enterprise, caused the failure 
of the Messrs. Capron. The sons, b) means of tin- . 
anoe of wealthy friends, succeeded in liberating their father 
from thr liabilities he had inclined a- the head of the firm 
of John Capron ami Sons, and resumed the business of 
manufacturing. They changed their machinery t * » the im- 
proved machinery made b) Goulding, ami were so -in 
t'nl a- !■> warrant them, in 1836, in doubling tin- size of 
their mill. 

During tin- decade, the [ronstone ('<«tt<»n mill was burnt. 
It was re-built by Jonathan F. South wick, and pul into <•, 
tion by Albert Fairbanks, Samuel Shove, and Charles \. 
Messenger, at first on satinets ami afterwards on cashm< 
of which they made a superior quality for man) \< 

The financial storm <•!' 1837, scarcer) lefl a business man 
standing squarely <>n hi- met in the valle) of tin- Black- 
i I 



146 APPENDIX XIII. 

stone ; and although many went under for a time, most of 
them came to the surface again struggling desperately for 
success. 

In 1834, Jerry Wheelock, who, up to this time had made 
jaeks and other woolen machinery, found it impossible to 
compete with the large capital of the Worcester machinists 
and gave up the building of machinery. He turned his 
machine shop, which was in the old Day mill, into a 
woolen yarn factory, under the firm of J. Wheelock and 
Son. In 1837, they hired room and power at the Uxbridge 
Woolen mill, and doubled their machinery. In 1840, they 
bought one-half of the Luke Taft mill, taking into the busi- 
ness S. M. Wheelock, making the firm J. Wheelock and 
Sons. After the purchase of one-half of this mill, in 1840, 
by J. Wheelock and Son, the other half was run by Moses 
Taft till he sold out to C. A. and S. M. Wheelock, in 1846. 
The mill formerly standing on this spot, owned by Luke 
Taft, had been burned, in the winter of 1837 and '38, but 
was immediately re-built and improved machinery intro- 
duced. 

The Uxbridge Woolen Manufacturing Company was an 
incorporated company, receiving its charter in the winter of 
1826 and '27. The original members of the company, 
were Amariah Chapin, Koyal Chapin, Dr. George Willard, 
John and Orsmus Taft. These men were all relatives, and 
owners of the land on which the mill and most of the other 
necessary buildings, and tenements for the employes, would 
stand, and of the most of the land through which the canal 
to convey the water to the mill would run. The Messrs. 
Chapin were merchants and active business men, father and 



Mil M>l\ Mil. 1 17 

ton. The Messrs. Tan" were brothers, 1 »■ • 1 1 ■ of them irere 

manufacturers, and had been more or less engaged in the 
manufacture of woolen goods for several years. 

The first (reavers employed by Daniel Day, I think were 
[rish by birth, and had .-ill 1 1 1 * - virtues and all the rio 
[rishmen. These habits would make it desirable ili.it one 
Bhould have more reliable persons as operatives, in order 

irrj "ii manufacturing successfully, or, in bet, any 
other business, and therefore Orsmus Taft, a young man, 
and a neighbor of Mr. I >.i\ . accepted an offer t<> L r " into the 
mill to work at what was considered, by some « »r 1 1 i - friends 
and tli<- [rishmen, rather low wages. But he thought, u let 
those laugh who win;" and in about a year he had charge 
of the weaving, and now Yankees generally took the places 
of the Erish. 

En the autumn of 1837, Orsmus Tafl and Samuel Smith 
sold the shares thej held in the stock of the Uxbridge 

len company, to Edward Seagrave and Lyman ('op- 
land. Royal Chapin gave op the agency of the mill t<» 

rave, and in a Bhorl time sold his shares. I do not 
remember how Amariah Chapin's stock was disposed of; 
bul on the failure of Dr. Willard, his stock was sold at 
auction, to settle his estate, about the year 1842 or '43, and 
brought the rast sun of forty-five dollars for that which 
had oosl him four thousand five hundred dollars — nine 
shares. We see in this an instance of the ill-fortune 
whi.i) attended nianufacturers as the business had thus far 
been developed. Cassimeres were at first manufactured at 
this mill, afterwards satinets, and in 1844, it again changed 

Bssimere, and since then has continued a cassimere 



148 APPENDIX XIII. 

mill. Mr. Copland gave up the superintendence of the 
Oxbridge Woolen mill in 1844, .and was succeeded by J. 
W. Day, for some three or four years, when the manufac- 
turing' business was practically given up by the corporation, 
and the mill was operated for about ten years by Messrs. 
M. D. F. Steere and Josiah Seagrave, not however without 
reverses and heavy losses. The mill was enlarged about 
the year 1850, and the machinery increased to twelve sets 
of cassimere machinery, with about fifty looms, most of 
them the Crompton fancy loom. In February, 1852, the 
mill was again destroyed by fire. It was immediately 
re-built and filled with the most improved cassimere 
machinery then known. In 1854, Mr. Seagrave became 
pecuniarily embarrassed, and Mr. Carnoe took his place. 
The firm was now Steere and Carnoe for two or three 
years, when Mr. Seagrave resumed his place in the mill. 
He was, however, unable to withstand the crisis of 1857, 
and, although he made an earnest effort to go on again, it 
was in vain, — everything seemed to turn against him. Mr. 
Steere received an offer, in the winter of 1857, to take 
charge of the Salisbury mills, which he accepted, and left 
Uxbridge. 

In February, 1859, the finishing mill and dye-house were 
destroyed by fire. This was another serious blow to one so 
harassed and perplexed, and although Mr. Seagrave suc- 
ceeded in re-building, by means of the insurance, he was 
unable to continue the business and soon after died. The 
property passed into the hands of Messrs. J. C. Howe and 
Co., of Boston, and after standing idle a year or more, was 
sold to its present owner, W. D. Davis, of Providence, R. 



UTI'M-IX XIII. I 19 

I., who i«m.|< it jii-t in time to receive the advantages tin- 
war gBve to manufacturers. AImhiI l s, ' s . Mr. I>:i\i- sold 
the mill i M . \{. and J. Tuft, who made \< r\ exten- 
sive repairs, additions and improvements ; and after running 
the mill two or three years, thej re-sold it to Mr. Davis, \\li<> 
-till c iw 11- H and has run eight or nine sets of machin< 

part "t' the time since li«' re-l>ough1 it. This mill has I n 

:t \ i r\ oostl) one for its owners, being several times burned. 
Three mills, three barns, t\\«» dwelling-houses, :m<l two <li\- 
houses, have been destroyed l»\ fire, besides numerous 
smaller losses in the same waj . 

The old Daj mill, the first mill built in town, wn- burnt 
in L 844, and was re-buill in ili«' course "I a year or two. 
On being re-built, J. \\ . Day, -<»n of Joseph Day, having 
left the Uxbridge Woolen mill, ran it for four or ti\<' \ 
In 1844, J. Wneelock and Son- ]>ut in looms, and pul one- 
half ««t" their yarn machinerj into the manufacture <>f plaid 
flannels. In L846, Charles A. and Silas M. Wneelock 
taught of Mi i rl of ili«' mill owned by him, 

and Jerry Wneelock retiring from business, the firm of 
C. \. and S. M. Wheelock was formed. Thej continued 
to manufacture satinets and plaids till 1852, when they 
made alterations and additions t" their mill, and put in 
additional machinery .'in>l fancj looms, l>nt <li'l nol l>cgin 
the manufacture of cassimeres solely, until 1855. In I 

in engine \\n~ put into the mill as auxilliary ti> the 
water power, the first engine set np in this town for manu- 
facturing purposes. In 1859, additional machinery 
pul into the mill. In L872, additional buildings were put 
up, and soon more machinery was introduced, with self- 



150 APPENDIX XIII. 

operating jacks and mules, in place of hand-jacks, — these 
self-operating machines having recently come into success- 
ful use. At this time this mill is equipped with five full 
sets of fancy cassimere machinery. 

After selling his share of this mill to C. A. and S. M. 
Wheelock, Moses Taft left manufacturing till the winter of 
1846 and '47, when he hired a mill in Burrillville, and with 
Samuel W. Scott, who had been in his employment for sev- 
eral years, again went into the manufacture of satinets, 
which he continued till the winter of 1849 and '50, when 
this mill was burned. The next year, in company with J. 
W. Day, whose name has been mentioned in connection 
with the Uxbridge Woolen mill, under the firm of Taft and 
Day, he hired the Capron mill and continued the same 
business for some years, when Dea. William C. Capron 
was admitted to the firm, making it Taft, Day and Co. 
This firm was shortly changed to Taft and Capron, by the 
withdrawal of J. W. Day, and so continued till about 1862, 
when Messrs. K. and J. Taft, who had long been in business 
as merchants, bought them out and continued the business 
until after the close of the war, when their lease expired. 
Messrs. Henry and Charles C. Capron took the mill for a 
few years. On the withdrawal of Charles C. Capron, Wil- 
liam E. Hay ward entered into copartnership with Henry 
Capron, and the mill has since been run by Capron and 
Hay ward. 

After the burning of the mill run by Moses Taft in Bur- 
rillville, he took measures to secure the water rights and 
land for what is now known as the Central mill, bought the 
canal of the old Blackstone Canal company, and laid the 



Mil M-l\ Mil. ] 51 

foundation for the mill in the autumn of L852. Il WOB 

completed 1 1 1 « - next year and leased to Israel M. Southwick 
ami Richard Sayles, under the name of Southwick and 
Sayles, who continued t<> run the mill till L859, when 
the) sold out their lease to Bradford, Tafl A ('.i., of Provi- 
dence, R. I., Mi. Sayles continuing to superintend the mill 
till his health failed some time in L862or'6d. Daniel W. 
Tafl then took the superintendency of th<- mill, and con- 
tinued bo until he took tin- lease in his own name, in I 

3. R. and J. Tafl bought the mill property of M 
Tafl aboul 1865, and made extensive additions t«» the power 
in L866, by buildings Dew dam, and in 1*7."), the) made an 
addition to the mill and built a new dye-house, making th ( > 
mill suitable for ten sets <>!' machinery for making fancy 
oassimeres — fancy cassimeres having always been made in 
this mill. They had put in an eighty-horse power steam 
engine, some two years previous t" this time to supply 
power while making repairs, which had become necessary 
on account of the breaking of their dam. They have now 
ample power in the dryesl season. 

After the burning of tin- factory in Burrillville, in the 
winter of L849 and . Samuel W . Sootl returned to 
Oxbridge, and the next year took a lease of the Day mill 
ami ran it by the yard, ami ha- run it on contract, and on 
his own account, up to the present time. !!<• bought the 
mill and farm aboul L859 or '60. It was burnt in the sum- 
mer of L878, and immediately re-buih in an enlarged und 
greatl) improved manner, with first-class machinery in every 

i. tor making satinets, which ha- always been the 
fabric made here. The mill has three sets of cards, forty- 



152 ArPENDIX XIII. 

eight inches wide, three self-operating mules and twenty-six 
looms. It is run by J. R. Scott and Co., Samuel W. Scott 
superintending the mill. 

After selling the lease of the Central mill to Bradford, 
Taft and Co., Israel M. Southwick continued to make the 
repairs at that mill, as he had previously done when in 
company with R. Sayles, until about 1865 or '60, when 
again, in company with R. Sayles, they bought the old 
Rivulet mill, enlarged it to more than twice its former size, 
put in steam-power and fitted it up to receive machinery. 
Mr. Southwick then sold his right to Zadok A. Taft. 
Messrs. Sayles and Taft then put in machinery and leased 
it to parties from Providence, for making knitting yarn, 
and it was run on this work till it was burned, in the fall of 
1873. It was re-built the next year in a much improved 
manner. At first cotton machinery was put in, but it soon 
gave place to woolen machinery, with which Mr. Sayles 
was well acquainted. It has four complete sets of satinet 
machinery, with self-operating mules. 

About the year 1834, Alvin Cook purchased a small 
building on the Emerson Brook, which was originally built 
for a cabinetmaker's shop. He greatly enlarged it and put 
in woolen cards, spinning machines and looms, but no 
finishing machinery. He ran the machinery by the yard, 
for Effingham L. Capron, who was then running the Capron 
mill, making satinets. He was obliged to succumb to the 
financial pressure of 1837, and was never again engaged in 
manufacturing. From 1837 to the present year, 1879, 
with the exception of a year or two, when the property was 
nsc<l for the manufacture of satinet warps, and perhaps for 



A1TI \M\ Mil. 

some mechanical purposes, the mill has been unoccupied. 
It has lately been purchased bj l>. M. \.<< . repaired and 
fitted up for a shoddy mill. 

The [ronstone Mill, after ili<' failure of Fairbanks and 

ml'it, passed (hnniirli various hands. It was burnt, 

and after laying idle for several years has, within the last 

. passed into tli«' hands of Ahijah Eaten, and has 

been re-buill for a shoddj mill. 

Some five "T six years ago, Zadok A. Tafl boughl a farm 
through which runs tin- Emerson Brook, at what was for- 
merly known as the Leonard Tafl mills. These mill- had 
fallen into decay. Mr. Tafl erected a mill into which he at 
first put machinery for making cotton warps. This ma- 
chinery has been removed, anil the mill enlarged with the 
n of leasing it tor a Batinel mill. It has never been 
occupied a- such, and i- now used in making shoddy. 

This closes the account of the woolen business in Ox- 
bridge. It remains to Bpeak of tin- cotton manufacturing, 
of which Dotbing has been said, except incidentally, anil in 
connection with the manufacture of satin< 

It ha- been notice, I. th.it preparation lor the manufacture 
of cotton in this town was begun by Ebenez< I lapp. 

The building i- now standing nearly opposite the boarding- 
house at the Oxbridge Cotton mills, and i- used for a tene- 
ment house. I think that nothing hut vain was ever made 
in it. How long Mr. Clapp continue. 1 to run the mill. I 
do not know; I. nt I have been told, that about 1817 or 
'18, a Mr. Seaver came from Boston and took charjre of it 
for Rol>cr1 Rogcrson. However this ina\ be, Mi. |; 
son soon after bought the mill and power, together with the 



154 APPENDIX XIII. 

land for tenements, and improved the power to about 
double its original amount, by raising the dam and banks 
of the trench, thus increasing the fall, and in 1823, he 
built the West Stone mill, which was a model mill in every 
respect. The machinery was chiefly made on the premises, 
and under the direction of Learned Scott, of Cumberland, R. 
I., I believe, who also made the plans of the new mill and 
superintended its erection. The machinery was built in the 
best possible manner and regardless of cost, and the goods 
made at this mill were as fine and as perfect as any then 
made in this country. 

The East mill was built in 1827, in the same style of 
perfection as the West, and with such improvements as four 
years experience had shown to be desirable. 

The whole village is laid out with so much taste that it 
attracts the notice of any stranger who may pass through it. 
Mr. Rogerson was a man of great public spirit. He 
built the hall in which the Baptist Society worship, and by 
him it was ' ' dedicated to Christian worship without regard 
to sect," — the Rev. Samuel Clarke, then pastor of the First 
Congregational Society in Uxbridge, preaching the dedica- 
tion sermon. The hall was at first occupied by the Metho- 
dists, afterwards by the Baptists, then again by the 
Methodists, and for the last thirty years or more by the 
Baptists. 

In 1835 or '36, Mr. Rogerson bore one-third of the 
expense of building the arched bridge in the village, over 
the Mumford River, also the retaining walls and grading the 
road made necessary by building the bridge. Of course, 
this was in addition to his regular taxes. Mr. Rogerson 



APPENDIX Mil. 

trill always bo romomlicred, bj those who knrn him, 
in.in of groat personal enterprise and public spirit. 

Financial crashes, like that of 1837, have little regard 
for these characteristics, or an\ other good quality, 1 1 1 1 1» — > 
it is largely combined with prudence. This was not Mr. 
rson's character, and the storm that struck him i < •■ >k 
from liim all li«- had; and he, who a fe* years before could 
reckon hi- propert} 03 hundreds of thousands, went forth 
penniless, Dover t r from his misfortunes. I never 

visit this village without a feeling of sadness, to which I 
feel incapable of giving expression, as I think of the busi- 
ness fate of this worthy man. 

The property now passed into the hands of rnorl 

A new corporation was formed, called tl Uxbridg< 

ton Mills," and they were run under this name till L850, 
when they were sold to the Messrs. Whitin, of North- 
bridge, \\h<> built :ni addition of brick, uniting the two 
stone mills in 1851, making tin- mill about three hundred 
and twenty feet Long and three stories high, with attics and 
basements to the stone mills. New and improved machin- 
ery was put into the mill, and everything was done t<> make 
it :i first-class mill of about i<n thousand spindles. It <on- 
tinued t<» be operated bj the Messrs. Whitin, Charl 
Whitin 1 ►« • i nir superintendent, until tin- division of the 
Whitin estate, when it passed to the youngest brother, 
James F. Whitin, who now owns it. It is under the 
superintendence of G Whitin. This i- tin- onlj 

t<»n mill in town, or ever has been, — with the exception 
of the small one at Ironstone, built in 181 I. and those thai 
have been spoken of as used tor making satinel wa 



156 APPENDIX XIII. 

In looking over what I have written, I notice the omis- 
sion of the change made on the dissolution of the firm of H. 
and C. C. Capron. A new dye-house having been built for 
the better accommodation of the works, C. C. Capron took 
the old brick dye-house, which was also a stock-house, and 
thoroughly repaired it, and put in a water-wheel and 
machinery for the manufacture of shoddy. The mill was 
burned a few years afterwards, but immediately re-built, 
much enlarged and improved, and is now one of the best 
mills for the manufacture of shoddy in the country. 

In concluding my account of the Manufactures of Ux- 
bridge, I think it may be well to make a statement of the 
improvements made in woolen machinery since 1810. 

The first improvement was the revolving shear-blade, by 
William Hovey; the next, the bobbin-winder, which had 
but a short life ; then the napping machine and gigs, in 
place of the hand-jacks, for raising the nap on woolens ; 
then the power satinet looms in place of the hand-looms 
(the power-loom for cotton weaving was first put into opera- 
tion in this country in Waltham, Mass., in 1816) ; the 
Goulding improvement for carding and spinning, by which 
young children were generally thrown out of employment in 
woolen mills, and the number of other operatives in card- 
ing and spinning was reduced to nearly, or quite, one-half the 
number previously required. Next came the dressing of 
woolen warps by power, and at about the same time a power 
brushing machine was introduced for removing dust and 
smoothing down the nap, after the cloth had passed through 
the various finishing operations, and before it was put into 
the press. 



4PPEHDU \lll. l.'.T 

This was followed by a •_■!' ut< r perfection in the construc- 
tion of woolen machinery, and improvements in the Gould- 
ing machinery, whereby an increase in the size of machin- 
ery and the speed with which it could be run were made 
desirable and possible. Looms for weaving fancy woolens 
were then introduced, particularlj the loom patented by 
William Crompton, with improvements in finishing machin- 
ery, especially in the shearing machine, bj which the 
amount of work was increased and better done; — this 
improvement consisting <>f an increase in the number of 
blades in the revolver. Then came th<' rotary t'ulliiiL r mill, 
the renewal <>t' the Crompton patent, and the improvement 
made on the li><>m by his son George; the James Green- 
halgh improvement <>n the fancy loom, by which the warp 
was operated with greater ease than before, and enabling 
the manufacturer to use a finer warp when it was desirable 
to '1" bo; the continuous and self-saving li-t shearing 
machine of Parks and Woolson, and other makers; the 
double-acting gig; the self-operating mule, reducing the 
number «»t' spinners one-half; the double cylinder, or 
Guessner :_ r iir. and the Knowles fancj loom. There have 
also been great improvements made in ever} kind of power- 
loom, enabling the manufacturer t<> increase the speed of the 
satinel loom from eighty-five t<- one hundred and Cwenty- 
five picks per minute, and the cotton loom, from ninetj »«• 
one hundred and eighty picks per minute. 

w ithstanding all these improvements, and the deci i 
of the cost of manu fa cturing, the operatives In the woolen 
mills now earn more per day than the} did in 1824. [have 
omitted to notice one improvement, which came Into use 



158 APPENDIX XIII. 

in 1846, the "burring machine," applied to the first 
breaker of the carding, which has done for burry and dirty 
wool, what the cotton gin has done for cotton : also the 
" burr picker," used to rid the wool of burrs and open it 
better, before it conies to the cards. There have been 
other improvements made, such as the shoddy picker, the 
flock cutting machines, and wool scouring machines. 

The improvements in cotton machinery have been so 
great, that for a man to take a mill, fitted up in the best 
manner of twenty years ago, and attempt to run it in com- 
petition with one properly fitted up to-day, would be 
his certain financial ruin. 

Charles A. Wheelock, 1879. 



APPENDIX XIV. 



\ :m niustration of the quality of the young ladi< 
the town, and as containing important facts, many of which 
nru lo m.\ I take the liberty t«> print a composition 
written l>\ a young l.i'l\ of Uxbridge, thirteen years old at 
the time when it was written, March 20th, 1832, and which 
came under mj observation since the lecture was delivered. 

I II \i;\ ( I! \nv 
I »i 3( ROT I. >\ I <\ 1 '\r.i;ll" l . - I ! 

[Jxbridge is a Bmall and pleasant town. Bituated m t In- 
Bouthern part of Worcester county, upon the Blackstone 
river. Ii is bounded <»n the north by Northbridge and 
Upton, "ii the east b} Mendon, south bj Smithficld, and 
west by Douglas. Ii is five and :i half miles in length, 
tour and ;i hall' in breadth, and twenty-two miles in circum- 
ference; containing 15,616 acres of land, "i" which I 
are appropriated to tillage, 1,924 to upland mowing, 1,178 
to meadow mowing, 1,612 to pasturaj to roads, 315 

covered with water, about 1,000 with forest woods, 
unimproved ; and the remainder, which equals 136 acres, is 
bo barren as t<> l>e unimprovable. 

The rivers of Uxbridge are the Blackstone, Mumford 
and ihf Wesl , \\ hich is \ en small. 



160 ArrENDix xiv. 

The Blackstone is much the largest : it is formed of three 
branches, one of which rises in Worcester, the other in 
Holden, and the other in Paxton ; it passes through the 
eastern part of the town and unites with the Providence 
river about one mile below Providence. The Mumford is 
next in size ; it issues from Badluck pond in Douglas and 
Manchaug pond in Sutton, takes a south-easterly course 
and empties into the Blackstone river about half a mile 
from the centre of the town. The West river issues from 
a pond in Upton, runs a south-easterly course and unites 
with the Blackstone about one-fourth of a mile from the 
mouth of the Mumford. 

The canal, which passes through the eastern part of the 
town, derives its name from the Blackstone river ; it is 
forty-five miles in length, and connects Worcester with 
Providence. There are no less than forty-two locks upon 
the whole canal, four of which are in this town. 

The other bodies of water in the town are Shokalog and 
Pout ponds, the former of which is in the south-western 
part of the town, and is about one-fourth of a mile in 
width and one-half in length, and one mile in circumfer- 
ence. The latter is about one-quarter of a mile east of the 
church, and is comparatively small. 

The principal hills are Goat hill, Wolf hill, Watchusecic 
hill, Liberty hill, and one which is situated near the centre 
of the town, called Fair-Mount, though not generally 
known by any particular name. Goat hill, so-called from 
the number of goats which ranged upon it before the settle- 
ment of the town, is in the north-eastern part of the town. 
The eastern side of the hill is well adapted to grazing ; 



\ITI M'l\ \IV. 161 

apon tli*- Bummit there are i Dumber of ro< ks, 
« hich are ton feet in height. 

Wolf hill is nearrj opposite ( loat hill; it derives it- i 
from the circumstance that wolves formerly inhabited it. 
Watchusecic hill is in the western part of the town, and the 
boundary line between Douglas and Uxbridge | 
directly over it- summit. Liberty hill, over which th< 

I, i- in tlir centre of the town ; from it yon have ■ fine 
view of the manufactories owned bj Robert R »n <>f 

Boston. 

Though we t'm<l many hills in [Jzbridge and it- vicinity, 
yet they are n<>t diversified as is generally the case with \al- 
the eye rests with pleasure upon the fertile valley 
through which the Blackstone and its tributary streams 
wind their way. This valley is from one to three-quarters 
of ■ mile wide. The banks of the Blackstone are Bkirted 
with elms, walnuts, willow-, and other kinds <>f h 
which are n<>t {infrequently twined with the grape-vine, the 
fruit of which is very delicious. 

There are a number "t" forests in the town, i>ut th<' only 
dense ones are in the Bouth-eastern part. The kinds of 
wood which are most abundant are chestnut and oak. 
There are two beautiful groves of pine in the southern part 
of the town, and one of birch in the eastern part. 

I. sides the abundance of wood, there is b field of | 
which covers two acres, and is considered preferable t<» 
wood, or coal, for fuel. 

The minerals in the town are stone and iron. The prin- 
eipal quarry of -tone i- near Rogerson's village, it 
of QneTssoid, and a great deal "t" it is used in building. In 
2] 



162 APPENDIX XIV. 

the south-western part of the town, there is an iron mine, 
from which considerable quantities were formerly taken. 
There is also a mineral spring impregnated with iron, near 
the centre of the town. The number of buildings in Ux- 
bridge is about four hundred and eighty ; one bank, two 
churches, one female seminary, the upper part of which is a 
Masonic hall, two hundred and forty-five dwelling-houses, 
twelve school-houses, one hundred and ninety-five barns, 
five stores, three grist-mills and six saw-mills. The capital 
of the bank is about one hundred thousand dollars. 

Uxbridge is celebrated for its manufactories, of which 
there are seven, four of which are surrounded by villages. 
The largest village is owned by Robert Rogerson ; it is in 
the north-eastern part of the town ; in it are two factories 
in which cotton cloth of a very superior quality is made. 
The factories are built of a kind of stone called Gneissoid ; 
they are situated on opposite sides of the Mumford, and are 
connected by an arched bridge, which adds much to the 
picturesque scenery of the place. The dwelling-houses are 
built of brick, and are one story and a half high, with the 
exception of three, which are two. In these factories they 
run 6,680 spindles, 144 looms, employ 120 persons, and 
weave 11,500 yards of cloth weekly. 

Capron's village is in the centre of the town. The 
factory is built of wood, excepting the lower part, which is 
of brick, and the houses are constructed of wood. In this 
factory satinets are made, and 384 cotton spindles are used 
for making satinet warps, and 600 for woolen, twenty looms 
are used and sixty persons are employed. The factory 
owned by the Woolen Manufacturing Company, is in the 



APPENDIX M\. 

eastern pari of the town, and ii ia built of brick, and the 
houses which surround it :nv "t' wood. K and 

Batinetfl were both formerly made, but al present the manu- 
facture of the latter onrj i- attended to. 

The other factories :uv Bmall and are owned by Clark 
Tail, Luke Tafl and Joseph Day. The two latt* 
situated on West River in the eastern part of the town, the 
former upon Stony Brook in the western. These three 
are devoted t < > the manufacture of satinets. In all of the 
woolen factories, 2,500 Bpindles and 100 loom- are used. 
In the cotton factories 10,000 spindles and 2,000 looms. 
In the year 1830, there were 2,500 yards of cloth made 
daily. Besides the factories for making cloth there arc 
others at which organs, shuttles, hate and splints are 
made. 

The whole population of I ' x l ni . 1 1^» • is of which 

about one-third arc employed in manufactures. Though 
this employment so much • i - the time and attention 

of the inhabitants, yet education is not neglected. Tin- 
town i- divided into twelve school districts, in each of 
which there is a committee of three chosen to 
teacher and attend t<» the affairs of the school, which ia con- 
tinued during the winter. There ia also a committei 
five chosen l»\ the town for visiting and examining the 
schools. 

The average number of scholara in each district is fifty, 
making the whole number that attend the public schools 
>i\ hundred. Six hundred dollai I annuall; 

the support of schools. 

\ another means of education, there i- a I; died 



164 APPENDIX XIV. 

the Uxbridge Social Library, which contains from two to 
three hundred volumes ; some of which are Scott's novels, 
others histories, and others the periodicals of the day. 

The population of Uxbridge, as is generally the case 
with any town, is made up of a mixed number, but most of 
them are intelligent, enterprising and industrious. Their 
principal employments are agriculture and manufactures. 



APPENDIX XV. 



Of some Members oj the Capron Family. 

(Jzbridge, for many years, has in various ways felt, ajid 

always for g I. th<' influence of the CaproD fiunily. We 

cannot, of coarse, speak in detail of all the members of it. 
We limit our notice to these four members: John Willard 
Capron, commonly called Col. Capron; — his oexl younger 
brother, William Cargill, always known as the Deacon; — 
and the two 90ns, William Banfield, and Samuel Mills: 
nil dow dead. 

.l<-nN Willabd Capron was born in Oxbridge, February 
14th, 1797. With the exception of a short time thai he 
spent in Leicester Academy, he was educated in the public 
schools of this town. Be married, January ith. I 
Abigail M. Read, who died May 22d, L828: and 
ber 30th, L 831, he married Catharine B. Messenger. She 
is dow living, mill several of their children. 

After Col. Capron let) school, he, and hi- brothers Effing- 
ham L. and William, were admitted t<> a partnership with 
their father, John Capron, in oianu&cturing ; — their manu- 
re was the store dow occupied by Hayward and Taft. 
For tni years he was connected with a mi lit .n \ organization, 
and in 1825, he was Diade Colonel of Infantry. A Dumber 
of years, beginning with 1827, he was postmaster <••' the 
town: and for nearh thirty vean* he h<M the office of i 



166 APPENDIX XV. 

public. In 1836 and '37 he was a member of the State 
Legislature. 

Besides these official relations, he was long and inti- 
mately connected with the affairs of the town ; being 
chosen for many consecutive years, to fill the office of 
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. Colonel Capron was 
one in whom the people of the town placed the most 
implicit confidence. He was universally respected and 
trusted. He was not a social man, in the popular sense of 
that phrase, being rather silent and reserved ; and yet 
he was by no means a repelling man. There was a quiet 
cheerfulness about him wliich rendered him a very pleasant 
man to meet. Much property came into his hands in his 
frequent administration of trusts, and no one could be more 
scrupulously honest than he. Colonel Capron Avas emphati- 
cally a good townsman ; large-hearted, public-minded — and 
he leaves behind him an unblemished reputation. He died 
December 25th, 1878, and on the 28th was buried from the 
Evangelical Congregational Church. 

The following notice of Dea. William Cakgill Capron, 
has been furnished me by Rev. Dr. Hooker, of Boston : — 

" The whole life of this excellent man was spent in Ux- 
bridge — his native town. It was a life of no ostentation, 
no aspiration for office and honor among the people, no 
panting after popular favor in any way. Office and honor 
came, for there was worth to care for them, and therefore 
fitness for them. His intelligence, his constant acquaint- 
ance with a choice library, his vigorous support of all 
religious institutions, his natural good judgment and com- 
mon sense, could not fail, and did not, to give him an 
eminent place in the esteem of all his fellow-citizens. He 
identified himself specially with the best interests of the 



Mil \M\ \\ . 167 

young, i'.\ :i faithful service of forty-four 
and superintendent in the Sunday school. In christian 
character, he was a tower of strength i«» tli<' church. II 
piety was doI impulsive, never developed in rash enthu- 
siasm. It was l "« him. 1 • • . i on :i large acquaintance with the 
great doctrines of 1 1 1 « - \\ < >i . I <>!' God, <:ilm. thoughtful, 
unswerving, largely developed int<> b lively interest, nol 
only in tlit- besi welfare <>t his own community, l>m it 
flowed forth in the ni<>-t tender and active sympathy with 
nil his r.i 

Mr. Capron was born in this town, August llih. 1. 
He married Miss Chloe Day, October 29th, 1821, and died 
1 ■ i ■ 1 1 .- 1 1 ■ \ 6th, L875, leavings widoM and two children. 

William Banfield Capbon, Bon of Dea. William i largill 
■ad Chloe Day Capron, was born April LOth, 1824. Be 

joi I the Evangelical Congregational Church in Uxbridge, 

when he was thirteen years old. Be was fitted for college 
;ii Andover, and was graduated from Yale college in 1846. 
I i\ years he was principal of the Bopkins Grammar 
School, in Bartford, Connecticut, and while here he was 
verj actively engaged in the Sabbath bc1 I and City mis- 
sion \\>>rk. Under a strong sense "t' duty he devoted him- 
self to missionary work in foreign lands, in 1 852 ; and hai ing 
conditionally promised thai he would enter thai field of 
labor, he became a member of the Theological Seminary in 
Andover, and was graduated in l v ■<;. Ik 
an f\ angelisl in Uxbridg and was 

appointed t<> tin- Madura Mission. II<' married in 

daughter of Rei . I >r. 1 1. J'». 1 1 I for 

Madras, and remained in India sixteen yean*. II 
America in 1872—74, and returned '■> India in January, 



168 APPENDIX XV. 

1875. He died of heart disease, October 6th, 1876, leav- 
ing a widow and three children. 

After his death, an associate worker wrote of Mr. 
Capron's thorough-going habits and exactness. He also 
spoke of his habits of searching investigation, his minute 
forecasting of all details, his sound judgment, his generous 
ideas of missionary work, his fair-mindedness, his kindness 
in dealings with his brethren, his caution in forming his 
opinions, but not wedded to custom, nor afraid of innova- 
tion when changes were proposed. Mr. Capron was very 
modest in his estimate of himself, and uncomplaining. He 
did a solid work in his mission, which he repeatedly refused 
to leave, though other fields were offered him. His kindness 
was always practical, and to his mission he bequeathed the 
memory of a pure and saintly life. 

Samuel Mills Capron, brother of William Banfield, was 
born in Uxbridge, May 15th, 1832. The religious element 
prominent in him through life, was the marked character- 
istic of his early childhood. The time of his conversion 
and consecration to God, he ever referred to the period 
when he was a member of Phillips Academy at Andover, — 
in the last year of his preparation for college. He made a 
public profession of his faith by joining the Evangelical 
Congregational Church in Uxbridge, in September, 1849, 
and the same autumn he entered Yale college. During his 
junior year, he was occupied several evenings in the week 
in Mr. Russell's school ; and here he laid the foundation of 
his after eminent success as a teacher. He decided not to 
be a minister, but says of teaching : "I like that profes- 
sion very well so far, and think I could do tolerably well in 



APPKNDCI \\. 

In the aiituiuii «.i* 1853, he • ame master of the Hop- 
kins Grammar school in Elartford, < lonnocticut, immediately 
succeeding bis brother William, and here he remained ten 
years. In November, 1854, he married Eunice M. Chapin. 
In September, 1863, he went t<» Europe, where he spent 
aboul fourteen months. Se was now inclined to give up 
teaching and finer upon manufacturing, and so resigned his 
Bchool. Hi- resignation was not accepted, and he was 
waited upon by the Elartford committee and offered the 
place of Principal <>t' the High School, at nearly double his 
former Balary; accepting it. he returned to Elartford in 
April, L865. With three of his pupils, he spent tin- sum- 
mer of l s 71 in (iiv.it Britain. Aboul the firs! of Decem- 
ber, 1873, while oul one evening with his class star-gazing, 
he took a severe cold, which proved fatal, hi- health at this 
time being somewhat delicate. When told that hi- <!;■■ 
was pneumonia, he said, with sure knowledge of himself, 
'• 1 kimw I -hall not live." He died in Elartford, January 
4th, 1874, and hi- death waa there regarded as b public 
calamity. 

Mr. Capron was eminent as a teacher, ■ man and a 
christian. The qualities which pertain t<> the true id< 
manhood, seem t<> have been united in him, and submis- 
sively we cannot but ask, when thinking <>, hi- early death, 
why could n<>t one, who did bless, and would hav< 
blessing in the world, be longer spared to it? The public 
and private tributes paid to his memon were very tender 
and verj honorable; and the town where he was born and 
grew ti|» may well be proud of him. Hi- bodj lies in 
I jpeel Hill ( enietery. Editor. 1 - 



APPENDIX XVI. 



The Taft Family. 

The address of Judge Taft, at the gathering of the Taft 
family in 1874, leaves little for the writer of the present 
sketch to do, except to make extracts froni it relating to the 
Uxbridge branches of the family. 

The town records bear almost unbroken witness to the 
intimate and various relations of the family to the town 
from the beginning of its history. The patriarch, Robert 
Taft of Mendon, settled each of his five sons, Thomas, 
Robert, Jr. , Daniel, Joseph and Benjamin, on a farm, saw 
them all married and surrounded by a fast increasing 
family, before his death in 1725. Three of the five sons 
became residents of Uxbridge, — Robert, Jr., Joseph and 
Benjamin. Soon after the father's death, Robert, no longer 
"junior," removed to Uxbridge, where he resided on the 
east side of the Blackstone, near the Uxbridge Woolen mill, 
"having land on both sides of the river." "Joseph and 
Benjamin, the two youngest sons, undoubtedly settled on 
the west side of the Blackstone, not far from the meeting- 
house, Joseph owning and residing upon the farm now 
owned and occupied by his great-grandson, Zadok A. Taft, 
Esq. ; and Benjamin settled on the farm now owned and 
occupied by Mrs. Bezaleel Taft." We do not find that any 



\i ri \i.|\ w i. 171 

of the numerous children of Thomas settled in Uxbridge, 
Imt Daniel conveyed to his son Josiah, "h} deed of gift, 
the farm on tin- west ude of the Blackstone, afterwards held 

. .1 i iir- -mi, and more recently bj Mi 
Joseph Thayer, and which i- -till owned by the family." 
( )t' tli.- forty-five grandchildren of tin- old man E& 
forty-one bore scripture names, and not one of them had 
the modern middle name. The fiunily historian tells as, 
iliat tlir descendants of Robert, Jr., are "strong in this 
region and numerous elsewhere," thai in Uxbridge they are 
represented by "OrBmus, Moses, Robert and Jacob," — and 
:i 1 1« >~t that he dor- not name. Hie founder of the fiunily 
had a fancy forgiving all his descendants a farm; bed by- 
and-by, when that could n<> longer l»' done, Bucceeding 
generations turned their attention to other enterprises, 
thf natural facilities for which abound in Uxbridge, and 
became niamifa<ttin t-. Tliere i- scarcely a mill within the 
limit- of tin' town, that ha- not, at -oinr time, been owned 

oupied by a Taft. "When we consider, Judge 

Taft, •• the extent to which tin- name ha- become associated 
with thr manufactures of tin- vicinity, and how- much more 
widely the blood ha- extended than the name, we maj con- 
clude that th< Victories of this section of the Black- 
stone valley are almost a fiunily concern." 

It' tin- descendants of Robert were distinguished a- manu- 
facturers, from thf household of Daniel there ha- already 
come three generations of lawyers: Bezaleel Tat't —senior 
and junior — and I and no great gifl of 

prophecy i- needed t" predicl that ere many yearn tin* 
fourth ereneration ma\ 1m- admitted to tin- bar. S I ml of 



172 APPENDIX XVI. 

the legal profession does this branch of the family appear 
to be, that more than one of the daughters has become a 
lawyer's wife. Among the " honorable women not a few," 
who have joined their names and fortunes to the Taft 
family, mention should be made of the wife of Josiah, the 
son of Daniel. The days of her widowhood were times of 
serious trouble for the colonies. Her husband died in 
1756. The French and Indian war was at hand ; the Revo- 
lution not far distant. A requisition was made upon the 
town of Uxbridge for a certain sum of money for colonial 
purposes. A meeting of the legal voters was held to see if 
the money should be granted. The estate of Josiah Taft 
paid the largest tax in Uxbridge, and his son Bezaleel was 
a minor ; but with a sturdy sense of justice that there 
should be " no taxation without representation," the citizens 
declared that the widow Josiah Taft should vote upon the 
question. She did so, and her vote was the one that 
decided in the affirmative that the money should be paid. 
Who wonders that her son was a man who had the 
unbounded confidence of his townsmen, and served them in 
various offices of honor and trust for forty years ! Uxbridge 
may yet be famous as the pioneer in the cause of woman's 
suffrage. 

The descendants of Joseph are widely scattered, but the 
homestead, "which he was the first to clear and improve, 
where he spent his whole active life, and where he died, is 
held by his greatr-grandson." "Captain" Joseph gave to 
each of his sons, Moses, Peter, Joseph and Aaron, farms, 
and some of these have never passed from the family. Wo 
find this family occupying many stations in life. There are 



Mil \M\ \\ I. 

mentioned among them, lawyers, doct< 

and farmers; and they appear i<> have had 

as law-makers. l * Joseph," say a lii- descendant, the histo- 

rian from whom we bo often quote, "has been n 

Bented in the legislature of Massiu In f Vi rm< 

Michigan, of ( >hio, and of Iowa. 

Like the patriarch «'t" old, the patriarch Robert, of M 
• Ion, named his youngest boh Benjamin. Like his father 
an<l brothers, Benjamin l<»\c.l to own broad acres, and his 

— 1» »i» — in the Bouth-western pari of Uxbridge w< n 
extensive, thai after Bottling .-ill his children <»ii farms, In- 

lefl twelve hundred g Il\ acres to be <li\i.lc<l among them 

after his death. Benjamin, <>t' the ti\»' brothers, had tin- 
Bmallesl family — but his descendants have settled in several 
of the States of the Union, and have brought honor to the 
name. Like th<- children ef Robert, Jr., 1 1 1« • \ have _ 
the name of Taftville to a town which their enterprise has 
done much towards building up. 

The family tree, with Robert a- it- sturdy trun] 
Bent forth branches, twigs and leaves, < p i it «• overshadowing 
the town of Uxbridge, spreading itself towards the northern 
hills, the western prairies, and 1 1 ■ * - sunny south. When the 
invitation was given in 1874, for the family to gather in 
friendly meeting, a h<>-t responded. Thej rding 

to the printed li-t before the writer, from twelve different 
- of the Union. They came from the pulpit, the 
bench, the bar, and the teacher'a desk ; the doctor left his 
patients, the farmer hi- scythe, the tradesman hie 
tomers, the mechanic hi- workshop, and the manufai 
his mill, bringing w itli them moth, i 



174 APPENDIX XVI. 

daughters, to the number of several hundred, and they 
were all children of Robert. 

To speak of all the Taft family has been in Uxbridge is 
quite impossible in the limits of this note. The sons of 
Robert built the first bridge over the Blackstone river ; they 
helped to build the first meeting-house, and every succeed- 
ing one, in Uxbridge. Daniel Taft, in 1732, gave the land 
for the first burying-ground ; Samuel Taft entertained the 
first President of the United States, and Orsmus was the 
first Yankee who learned to weave satinet. They have 
served their native State and Worcester county in many 
capacities, and Uxbridge in almost every one, — as lawyers, 
selectmen, town-clerks, representatives to general court, as 
teachers and doctors ; have cared for the old and unfortunate 
as overseers of the poor, and for the young as school com- 
mittees ; have wrought as mechanics of every kind, culti- 
vated the land, engaged largely in manufactures ; have been 
bank presidents and treasurers, and traders of many kinds. 
One position they never seem to have filled in this town. 
We do not know that any descendant of Robert Taft of 
Mendon has ever served as a minister of the gospel in 
Uxbridge, though we find them in many other places 
laboring in this vocation. 

Strongly marked as the character of the family has been 
in generations past for enterprise, industry and integrity, 
it is not less so in the present generation ; — and may it be 
the goodly heritage of children's children ! 

S. G. B. 1879. 



APPENDIX XVII. 



The Pi bi h & hi x >i b. 

The Act of the General Court thai made Uxbridge an 
incorporated town, dated June 27, ITl'7, and published 
July 1 2th, required, not only that there Bhould '><• main- 
tained public worship, Init also required to be maintained 
":i school-master t<> instruct their youth in writing and 
reading." The schools in Uxbridge to-day reel upon this 
foundation. 

The first rote of the town with regard i" schools i- this : 
January 28th, 17:.".'. voted, "that John Farnum, Robert 
Taft and Seth Aldrich, be a committee t>> treat with 
d.Mi about our right in \ school lands which have been 
sold and what yet remains to be Bold, in y townshi] 
Mendon and Uxbridge." January 22d, L730, voted, "that 
John Parnum, Robert Tafl and Seth Hastings, be .-i -taml- 
>ing committee, and should make a report t<> the town about 
it — that i- to saj . of the school lands, — and thej were em- 
powered t<> treat with Mendon, and it' tin- town of Mendon 
will let us enjoy the lands, sold and un-eold in Uxbridj 

with thrin about it." In i rember 20th, the 

towns chose two nun. Joseph Tafl and Seth Aldrich, t 
advice about the right of Uxbridge to ih<- land rt in 

M ni. Inn. now Uxbridffe, for schools and ministers. In 1731 . 
Ma\ llth, two more were added t" this poinn 



176 APPENDIX XVII. 

Joseph White and Ebenezer Reed ; and further, chose John 
Farnum, Robert Taft, Seth Aldrich, Ebenezer Reed and 
Joseph White, as a committee to petition the General Court 
to set off to the town of Uxbridge, its share of the minis- 
terial and school lands in Mendon, which were in Uxbridge 
before the separation of the towns. In 1732, January 
25th, voted to set up and keep a school in Uxbridge — and 
voted to have a school dame, the first seven or eight 
months proportionably ; and the selectmen were to appoint 
the place where the schools were to be kept and provide the 
school dame. In 1732, March 2d, the town voted, if Men- 
don will give Uxbridge two hundred pounds of the money 
the school lands sold for, for the schools of Uxbridge, with 
the interest of the bond now in the hands of Ebenezer 
Reed, which is a part of the two hundred pounds, we will 
accept of the same as our part of the school money. The 
town having reconsidered its vote, whereby a dame was to 
teach, now chose John Reed school-master, who was the 
first school-master. In 1732, April 4th, the town chose a 
committee to receive the money of the town of Mendon, 
which was voted the town of Uxbridge, and realized from 
the sale of the school lot some time since, and bring it in ( 
and keep it in profit for the use of the schools of Uxbridge. 
May 29th, voted to reconsider the vote whereby dames 
were chosen teachers, and voted also that the selectmen 
should keep up the schools the present year ; and on 
November 29th, voted, to have a school-master for three 
months from the present time. In 1733, February 5th, the 
school money was placed in the hands of the treasurer. 
May 3d, voted George Woodward, school-teacher, and to 



Mil \!'l\ W II 1 77 

board him, and to L r i\e him twenty pounds for his y< 
services. August 23d, voted to give James Emerson 
shillings a week for boarding teacher. Januarj 7th, 1734, 
the i"\vn voted to paj twenty-five pounds for schooling, 
and Edmund Raweon was 1 1 1 * ■ teacher this year. The same 
year, we find mention made of school-districts, aa u aquad- 
rons," and each squadron had the liberty of choosing its 
teacher — n woman — and the selectmen were to approbate 
the teachers. In 1736, John Rawson was allowed forty- 
five pounds for teaching school. 

In I7.">n, the town received of the General Court i grant 
of five hundred acres of land which, in 17.". s . was sold t<» 
John Harwood for two hundred and fifty pounds. Decem- 
ber 25th, Robert Tail was authorized to receive the money 

from Mr. Il.irw I, and the interest of the money was to be 

applied to the rapport of the bcI Is. Thi- grant, from 

some votes that afterwards appear in the records, must have 
been located in what is now th< 51 Hampshire ; and 

it was not until 17 11. that it was settled to whom this territory 
belonged, where this grant was located. In 1643, the County 
<>f Norfolk, of Massachusetts, included the town- of Salis- 
bury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, Dover and Strawberry 
Bank — now Portsmouth. The Patent of the Governor and 
Company of Massachusetts Bay, gave them the right to the 
land three miles north of the most northern part of the M< r- 
riniaek River, on a line running westward from the Atlantic 

I I :i, — which would include much of what i- now the terri- 
tory of New Hampshire. Thi- line was surveyed bj M 
chu8etts in 1652. In 1641, the settlements 
and Strawberry Bank voluntarily Bought the protection of 



178 APPENDIX XVII. 

Massachusetts, and remained under its protection until 
1679, when Charles II. made New Hampshire a royal 
province. In 1689, New Hampshire again came under the 
protection of Massachusetts, and the claim of jurisdiction 
was not settled until 1741, when New Hampshire became a 
separate province. 

This bit of history I insert here, that it may be seen why the 
grant of land for school purposes was located in what is now 
the State of New Hampshire ; and why, also, there was so 
much difficulty about the title to it. March 28th, 1753, the 
town voted to choose a committee"to act upon the affair of 
the five-hundred-acre grant, — and voted, also, "to see if the 
land could not be got where it was laid out ; and provided 
it could not be procured, to see what will satisfy the pur- 
chasers, and make them easy in that affair." In 1756, it was 
voted to see if the town will apply for a new grant of land, in 
place of that given in 1736, " and since taken by the Prov- 
ince of JVeiv Ha7ivpshire." In 1757, the town voted to 
raise eighty-five pounds nine shillings and ninepence to 
purchase the claim of Ebenezer Harwood, Solomon Wood 
and Josiah Chapin to this land; and in 1758, the town 
petitioned the General Court for a new grant of five 
hundred acres to make good the loss of the other. 

For some twenty years previous to this time, the 
expenses of maintaining the schools seem to have been met 
from the income derived from this grant of land : because, 
I find no record of money raised for tins purpose, for about 
this period ; in 1756, the town again began to raise money 
for the schools. 

The first mention made of a school-house is in the month 



AITI M'I\ W I!. 

of I >« •i-niil.i t, 17.i^, when the town voted to build n school- 
house. Tradition says, 1 1 * « - mceting-hous< previously 

for this purpose ; 1 ml though it may ha 
for this purpose in the rammer, or warm months, it 

■ » - 1 1 1 possible it could have been bo used in the winter ; 
;t- the churches of thai time were do! 1. we must 

remember also the frequent use of the meeting-house t""i" 
town purposes. In nil probability the Bchools of the other 
parts of the town were kepi in private hou 

In 1740, October L 7th, the town voted to alio* forty-four 
pounds thirteen shillings and threepence, for what had 
been done, and for wli.it was to be done, to the school- 
house. In August, 1741, the town voted do! to raise any 
monej for Bchools this year. In 17 tember 13th, 

widow Mary Aldrich was voted tour pounds for teaching 
school eight weeks — teacher's wages were half h pound a 
week, about $1.67. The town chose a committee of thi 
Bee about the Bchool funds, and in May, 17 1 1. the town 
added tour more to tlii- committee. In 1711. Septem- 
ber, the town chose :i committee to receive the bonds 
of the school money, and should any one refuse to L r i\<- 
up the bonds, to rae for them. January 20th, 17 1"".. 
the Bchool monej was l<t't in the hands of John Farnum and 
Joseph Tafl for five years; and they were to pay t 
pounds m year interest for it. March 2d, L753, voted to 
squadron out the school in places convenient, and <1. 
committee to do it. The town, in 17."u'.. raised twenty-five 
pounds for schools and town charges. The town, in I 

i to divide the town into disti i< t -. and each di 
to enjo} the prr booling in proix>rtion i 



180 APPENDIX XVII. 

money raised by them. A committee of five made their 
report upon this matter, and their report was adopted in 

1761. The town by this report was divided into thirteen 
districts, and the children of specified families were to 
attend specified schools, and each district was to have a 
sum of money allotted it, in proportion to the number of 
scholars in that district. In 1762-'63-'64-'65-'66-'67 and 
'68, sixty pounds a year were raised for schools. In August, 

1762, it was voted that the selectmen shall assist Solomon 
Wood in looking up the papers to ' ' qualify him to pursue 
after the five-hundred-acre grant." The town, in 1765, 
voted to apply to the General Court for a new grant of five 
hundred acres of land for school purposes — and the same 
year voted a new school squadron. In 1768, the town chose 
a committee of three, Ezekiel Wood, Samuel Reed, and 
Thomas Rist, to manage the affair of the town with Esquire 
Harwood, relating to the five-hundred-acre grant. The 
town, in 1769, voted to sell the old school-house, if it 
could get what it was worth. It seems, that about this 
time the General Court had given the town a new tract of 
land ; and this time of seven hundred and fifty acres ; for 
in 1770, the town voted to "pursue the laying out this land," 
and chose as a committee for the purpose, Capt. Ezekiel 
Wood and Samuel Aldrich, who were empowered "to make 
search and lay out the grant where they think the town will 
derive the greatest benefit from it ; " and they were also 
authorized to sell the land, if they considered it for the 
benefit of the town to do so ; — and the town allowed their 
claim for laying out this grant. In 1770-71, sixty pounds 
were raised for schools. The town, in 1773, voted to sell the 



Al II Ml\ \\ II. 181 

i.M school-house after ii waa pulled down : — and thU 
raised fortj pounds; in 1 7 7 • ■ , forty;— in 1777, -i\t\ : 
177>. one hundred .- • 1 1 • 1 twenty;— in 177'.', three hundred 
pounds;— we now Bee the effect of the depreciated cur- 
rency. In 17 7'.', at tli«' October meeting, the town voted t<> 
sell it- land in the western pari of the State. Thni i- prolja- 
bly the land given ci * »« »iit 177<». l>\ the G Court for 

school purposes, and laid out l>\ the committee chosen in 
177": fortjj pounds were n « . t « ■ . 1 t'.-r Bchoola in L780; tlii- 
was in the new emission <>t" money. The article ;t ' »< >ut 
schools in 1781 was dismissed from iln- warrant; in 
'84, forty pounds were raised. In 1788, we find 1 1 * * - 
first mention made of s grammar school; the town voted, 
u th.it three pounds thirteen shillings and sixpence, raised at 

the other meeting, Bhould be applied t«> a grammar bcI 1 

the present year." In L789, the town voted Bixtj pounds 
for schools; in L791- *92, it raised fifty pounds. In 1791, 
such changes as were found accessary were made in the 
location of school districts. In 17'.';;-':' l. sixty pounds were 
raised for schools; and it was voted, that the Quakers 
Bhould have their share <>f the school money : but in I 
it waa reconsidered. In 1796, eighty pounds were raised, 
and m committee of nine waa chosen t«» change the districts 
for schooling and highway purposes. By this vote, the 
town was < 1 i \ i< !*■• 1 int<» eleven school districts, — :in<l sub- 
stantially remained so divided up to 1 s l'.">. In 1797, the 
town raised two thousand dollars for building school-houses 
in the several districts: — n<> district waa to have more 
than it- proportionate share of this money ; and if the 
inhabitants of the district were not abl< irhere 



182 APPENDIX XVII. 

their school-house should be placed, this committee was to 
fix upon a proper site ; and John Capron, Seth Aldrich, Jr., 
Joseph Rist, Lieut. Benjamin Greene and Capt. Samuel 
Read were the members of this committee. 

And now, let me substantially quote the language of 
Charles A. Wheelock : — 

The old school-houses ! What queer buildings they 
were, when compared with the modern school-house ! The 
writing-desk was a plank running round three sides of the 
room — the seat was a slab, its flat side uppermost, with 
holes bored in it, in which were driven cart stakes for legs. 
The scholar had no back to his seat, unless he should 
turn round and face the centre of the room, when his back 
might rest against the edge of the plank writing-desk. The 
big stone fire-place was filled with blazing logs in winter, 
and the child must roast and freeze by turns. The dungeon, 
— that dreadful place, — to which the unruly ones were con- 
signed, sometimes to regale themselves upon the good 
things the prudent had brought to sustain themselves in 
their arduous labors, while delving among the mysteries of 
the three R's ; — and the heavy ruler was there, and that 
never-to-be-forgotten birch, which was so quickening to 
the mental faculties, when properly administered. 

Of course, the town built school-houses in accordance with 
the vote just referred to. There is some reason to believe 
that a new districting of the town took place between 1812 
and LS20, but the record is defective. 

Let us now come to the year 1815, when Mr. Wheelock, 
— so he writes me — first knew something of the schools. 



Mil \I'I\ \\ II. 

There were school-masters and mistresses in 1 1 1 • « ~ . - d.n 
not teachers — who kept tin- school, and 1 think the} 
it pretty will." M\ first school-mistress was A 
i . daughter of Capt. Samuel Read, who was mis- 
of the summer schools for tin- four years that I 

belonged i" the Rivulet district. S i after, Bhe Kit 

teaching, and was married to Col. John W. Capron. Miss 
Read was a good teacher and won the esteem <>t* her 
scholars. Mj first master was Benjamin Thwing. Mr. 
r riiwinL r had been :i school-master for manj years '" i I 
knew him, anil continued t<> keep the winter's school in the 
same district for many years after I left it. He v. 
genial man and a good disciplinarian — ami as my memory 
run- back t" him, and recalls the village school-mast 
the •• Deserted Village," I think he would have been a [ 
subject for Goldsmith's graceful pen. Capt. Thomas 
nmn was my next master — an energetic, active man, who 
kept his scholars well employed and never Buffered 
mischief-making to pass undiscovered. Of other mast . I 
mention Most D. Southwick, who afterwards graduated at 
Brown University, and became a successful and much I 
physician <>!' Millville; — William Thornton, who, while he 
in teaching, was a student in tin- office of Dr. 
1 Willard; — ('hark- K. Whipple, a student, and 

afterwards was graduated from Amhersl College. I do not 
know that I had more regard for Mr. Whipple than tor any 
of my other teachers; but I have always tilt that he hail a 
system of man school than they, anil in the 

Bhoii experience I had in teaching, I • red to follow, 

a- 1 was able, hi- I 



184 APPENDIX XVII. 

tlernen were teachers of the district winter schools, that 
were tree schools, and were kept about ten weeks each. The 
summer schools were not free, the parents of the scholars 
paid for their tuition. These schools were all taught by 
women of great worth, and some of them of large expe- 
rience. 

In 1797, one hundred pounds were raised for schools : and 
tliis sum — $333£ — was gradually increased, until it reached 
six hundred dollars ; but the time when is uncertain. The 
annual appropriation, never exceeded six hundred dollars for 
schools until 1835, when the "First Abstract of School Ke- 
turns" was published by the State, and an opportunity was 
thus afforded of comparing the amount of money here raised 
with that of the neighboring towns, and the comparison was 
one not altogether flattering. If the appropriation had been 
doubled the town would not have raised too much. The town 
was now asked to raise one thousand dollars, and after some 
discussion and some opposition, the motion was carried. 
Better school advantages were immediately secured, and 
there has been an increase of school advantages from that 
time to this. The average wages of female teachers at this 
time, 1835, were $5.73 a month; and that of male teachers 
$13.93, exclusive of board . There were then eleven districts , 
and there were employed in them ten male teachers and 
eleven female ; — twenty-one different teachers in the year, for 
the eleven schools. Teachers were then changed every term 
— men teaching in the winter and women in the summer. 
Now, teachers are employed by the year. In 1835, the 
public schools were opened twenty weeks in the year ; now 
the number is nearly twice as large ; and the relative number 



UTENDDt MM. 

of t'< male t<> male tea< hers has greatly inert I 

? paid t<> teachers in 1877 was, to ma nd t<» 

females 134.65 :i month,— the teacher providing for himself. 

In L854, it was nnofficiall} ascertained thai Uxbridgo 
had the number of families required by la* to establish a 
Eligh School, according to the standard Bel np by the 
statutes of the State: and in February, 1855, tin- t<»\\n 
eh..-., mmittee to see it' it was liable t<» maintain a 

High Bel 1. Charles A. \\ !,. lo k, R. I». Howry and 

Merrill Greene. At the meeting <»t* the town in April, 
. the town voted thai the school committee — it !i;i\ i nir 
been ascertained thai the town was legally obliged lo 
such :i school — should procure a place and open :i High 
>1; ;iik1 six hundred dollars were appropriated for th<- 
Bupporl of the school until the nexl March meeting; :m<l a 
committee of five were appointed, \\h<» should reporl a 
location t'«>r the Bchool-house and with regard t«> building 
the same. In November «>t" the same year, the town 
to direel the town"- commits n of the 

school-room in the brick academy, pul the same in repair, 
and -«'t np a school therein, in the righl of the town. At 
the meeting in the spring "t" l s '»7, the town eoted to 
Qd a sum n<>i exceeding seven hundred dollars, under 
the direction of the Bchool committee, for the repaii 
the building, — with the approbation of the o f the 

same. — for tlir purpose of .-i High School. 

The firs! term of the High School wt 1 in the 

Academy building, in the spring of 1855, and Mr. Nathan 
Goldthwail was the principal. He was • for only 

one term. 

•J! 



186 APPENDIX XVII. 

Mr. Holbrook was the principal for the second term, but 
failing health compelled him to close his work before the 
term was completed, and the school was discontinued until 
the winter term, when Mr. H. R. Pierce took the school, 
and was the principal for nearly two years, — to the complete 
satisfaction of committee, parents and scholars. He was 
succeeded by Mr. H. E. Rockwell, for the remainder of 
the school year, when Mr. J. H. Clarke took the school for 
one year. The school, all this time, was accomplishing 
comparatively little, on account of the meagre appropria- 
tions made for it. In 1865, a three years' course of study 
was arranged for the school, which in 1869, was changed to 
one of four years. 

In connection with what we have said of the appropria- 
tion of two thousand dollars, in 1797, to build school- 
houses, we would now say a few words about the changes 
in the school districts, and the school-houses since built in 
them. 

About 1828, district number eleven was set off from 
number four, and a house for its use was provided by 
Mr. Robert Rogerson. The district continued to use this 
house until the abolition of the districts in 1869, when 
the town erected a house for the primary and grammar 
departments. 

In 1840, district number one rebuilt its house, which was 
burned in the winter of 1862 and '63, and did not rebuild. 
In 1840, district number four removed its house to where it 
now stands, and in 1843 remodeled it. After the abolition 
of the districts, this house was again repaired by the town, 
and modern school furniture introduced. This is perhaps 



\iri\i.i\ wii. 

the oldest school-house in town,- Mr. VVhecloek 
knows it baa been occupied Bixty-four . dis- 

trict number two buill m iif\\ bouse. Districts four .• • i > < 1 ti\<- 
seem t<> have l>uilt ne^ ones some time since 1 7 '. » 7 , — judging 
by the manner in which the} were built. The house built in 
1 7 '. • 7 , for district number three, remained in nse until I 
when it was repaired .■m<l the seats were modernised. In 
1 B 13, district number t\\<> erected a new house, haying out- 
grown the house pul up in 1818; and about 1845, number 
eight remodeled and new-seated it- house. Numl 
abandoned it- house about l s ;'><>, :in<l built ;i n«'\\ oi 
brick, which was also abandoned in 1853, and a new bouse 
was built, which was remodeled by the town, when the 
school districts were abolished. Afterthe Providence and 
Worcester Railroad was opened, district number ti\«' found 
itself under the necessity "!' building b new house; but 
when inquiry was made about the right <»t" the districl t<» 
build, it was found that there were n<> legal districts, 
ares were immediately taken t«» have the school dis- 
tricts legally formed, :ni<l an excellenl house, for gram- 
mar and primary departments, was erected in tin- district. 
In L858, Dumber two had again outgrown it- accommoda- 
tions, :iii.l a iif\\ district, — number thirteen, — was formed, 
which built anew house, far in advance of anything 
enjoyed for school purposes in tlii- neighborhood. Tfo 
districl to build was number five, in 1869: but it was n 
occupied as a districl school; for the State, in l **■'•'.■. abol- 
ished the district Bystem of maintaining schools, and the 
town took possession of the house before it was finish 
Since the school districts were alx)lishcd b\ the A.t of 



188 APPENDIX XVII. 

1869, the town has built three fine school-houses in place of 
those totally unfit for use ; has repaired and re-furnished 
with modern furniture, five others ; has bought a school- 
house for number one, whose house had been burned in the 
winter of 1862-63 ; the mixed intermediate and grammar 
schools have been furnished with wall maps and globes ; the 
primary schools are supplied with reading charts, and the 
High School with a valuable philosophical, chemical and 
electrical apparatus. 

C. A. W. and the Editor, 1869. 



APPENDIX Will. 



8l [1 k>] - wi» A< \i-imi! 

Let me premise, t I1.1t In my endeavor t«» give the history 
of the Academies, or Seminaries, of the town, it has nol been 
without a :_ r "<"l deal of careful inquiry, and comparison of 
dates, th.it I have been able to arrive .-it something like an 
accurate account of these schools. I -hall first speak of the 
building of th< \ l< my, <>n the north side of the common. 

In 1819, February L5th, this article appeared in the 

town warrant : — 

"To Bee if (he town will permit the erection of a private 
school-house on the north end of the common, between the 
cart-way leading t<> widow Fanny Willard'a back-yard, and 
the wall south of where th<- old blacksmith -h"|> stands: 
provided, -ai<l building can be erected by private muniti- 
on March Bd, 1819, it was voted, that liberty be 
given t>> build a school-house on the town common — <>f 
certain -j >« ■< i ti*< 1 dimension — provided it be built within 
three years from this date. Who petitioned for this 
privilege does n< -t appear. 

At the same time, the Masoni* L ently formed 

in the town, wished for better accommodations than it was 

enjoying in the Spring Tavern hall; and on June 3d of this 

reported, that th<- north end of the town common 



190 APPENDIX XVIII. 

was the most suitable place on which to build their pro- 
posed new hall. This agreement of purpose, between 
those who were interested in the new school-house, and the 
members of the Solomon's Temple Lodge of Masons, was 
the reason why the building was erected at their mutual 
expense — the Masons building the upper story, and the 
citizens interested in having better means of educating their 
children, the lower story — the town giving the land for the 
building. 

A paper now lies before me giving in detail the facts as 
succinctly stated above ; and to this paper is added the 
names of those who subscribed, and the amounts subscribed 
for the building. This paper is dated April 20th, 1819: 
and distinctly says, that members of the Masonic Lodge 
have expressed a wish to unite with the subscribers in 
putting up the building. 

With regard to the question, who took the initiatory 
steps in the erection of the Academy building, I think it is 
evident from the language of the paper referred to that the 
Lodge of Masons joined the citizens who were interested in 
educational matters. The paper says, "members of the 
Lodge have suggested a wish to unite," &c : and "Should 
it be the desire of said Lodge so to unite, the subscribers 
will choose a committee to confer with a committee of the 
Lodge," &c. 

It scarcely seems necessary to give the names of those 
who subscribed, as they can easily be found by any one 
who wishes to know them. 

Tin's building was erected in the year 1819, and was so 
far completed that on the twenty-fifth of December the 



UTI \M\ Will. 191 

M ms held their firsl mooting in their now hall. The hall 
musl have received Masonic dedication during tlii- month <>t" 

nber; because at a meeting held Decemlior 3<)th, 
thanks were given to \\\><. Ii . B njamin W<><»l for lii^ 
address delivered al the late dedication and installation of 
S. II. Ige in Uxbridge ; and thanks were returned i" t 1m- 
Grenadier Company for tlif honor t li»-\ conferred <>n this 

inn. 
The proposed school was opened in the autumn of 1 
— the building not being rcadj for occupancy any earlier — 
l'\ Mr. Abie! Jaque — graduated al Harvard Colli 
died in 1852, — who was the principal for a year or more, 
when he lefl the place, and Mr. Abijah Kendall took i 
of ii. In 1823, Mr. Jaques returned t<> the school, and 
was tin' principal of ii until the -j >ri i iu < »t" 1829, when Mr. 
William II. Williams, :i graduate of Brown University, 

ne principal, which office In- held for two y< 
After Mr. Jaques lefl tli<' Academy, he t<>«>l< pupils in 
special studies, occupying the house afterward owned by 
Mr. Joseph Day. One who remembers Mr. Jaques, 
of him: "He was .i man of cultivated mind ami -.>■ 
eel lent teacher, but very eccentric: w and another 
'•Mr. Jaques was, in my judgment, a most excellent 
teacher. He had all the elements which would enable one 

mmunicate knowledge and incite the scholar to obtain 
it 1>\ his own exertions. He was kind, affable and genial 
at all times. Those of his pupils who can remember him, 
will '!<> -" \\ ith resped and I" 

It may !••• added, that the school, up t<» tlii> time, 
attended l>\ boi - and irirls. 



102 APPENDIX XVIII. 

And now we give the history of the Female Seminary. 

Among the letters of Mr. Chapin, I find one from Miss 
Susan B. Brio-ham — afterwards Mrs. Kittredo-e — and 
since it gives so clear a statement of the inception of this 
Seminary, I shall draw freely from her statements : — 

" The origin of the Institution was this. — Several o-entle- 
men who had daughters to be educated, desired a school 
nearer home for them, and of course began to consult how 
to establish such a Seminary. This was in the autumn of 
1831. Of these gentlemen, Dr. Willard, Bezaleel Taft and 
Joseph Thayer, Esqrs., took a prominent part. They pro- 
cured the lower room of the Masonic building and two small 
upper rooms, and then invited me to take charge of the 
school. Early in December, I opened the first term with 
thirteen pupils." 

The names of eight are given ; the names of the other 
five are forgotten. 

"At the close of this half-year, in the spring of 1832, 
an eftbrt was made to increase the school and to establish it 
on a more permanent basis. Two recitation rooms were 
added to the building, and two assistant-teachers eno-ao-ed 
for the year: Miss Catharine Perry for the English 

branches, and Miss for Music, besides several 

assistant-pupils. The new year opened with forty pupils : 
twenty of them were from Providence, R. I. Unfortu- 
nately, we had no boarding-house, where teachers and 
pupils could be accommodated together ; but the best fami- 
lies were ready to take those from out of town. In the 
spring of 1833, a boarding-house was procured with 
accommodations for fifteen or sixteen persons. Miss Julia 
C. Fisher was assistant in the English 1 (ranches, and Miss 
Ann C. Fisher in Music, and several assistant-pupils were 
still retained. The year was prosperous, and the school 
pleasant." 

The house that Mrs. Kittredge refers to, and used as 
the first boarding-house, was kept by Col. Emerson and 



\rri m.i\ w in. 

w.i- kiiipuii u the "I'i. Smith house." It i- n.>\\ standing 
nearlj opposite the house of < lharlea < '. < apron. 

••In 1834," to refer again to the letter, " a larger hi 
was procured, accommodating forty, both teachers and 
pupils." This house is now known as Macomlwr'a block, — 
formerly 1 1 1 » • hotel, moved to it- present site in 
was kepi by Mr. Elias Wheelock. Ami again, to return to 
the letter: "The same assistant teachers were continued, 
and another added, Miss Sarah Brigham." 

In the spring of 1835, Mi— Brigham's health failed 
ami Bhe was compelled t<> resign her position .-i- principal. 
She was succeeded by Miss Hall, with Miss Anderson as 
assistant. Mi-- Hall was the principal but b single 
ami was succeeded by Miss Laura A. Washburn, as* 
by Mi-- Maria C. Brigham the first year, and by Miss 
Sophia Bazen the second year. 

And now, ami :>- part of the history of the education of 
young ladies in Oxbridge, we notice the establishment of 
another school j or, perhaps the continuation of the one just 
Bpoken of, under a new management. 

( Mi Thursday, March 2d, 1837, :i meeting was held .'it the 
house of William C. Capron, of a committee that had 
appointed by tin- Evangelical Congregational Church, t<> 
consider the subject of a Young Ladies' High School. At 
this meeting, several committees were chosen: and a com- 
mittee of three was chosen, consisting of Etev. Mr. 
i . i aor, I »r. i . Willard, and I '■ v. pon, 

t<> whom was entrusted the general management of the 
"I. 

This school was to !><• under the exclusive control of :i 



194 APPENDIX XVIII. 

Board of seven Trustees. This Board was to be chosen by 
a committee of three of the Evangelical Congregational 
Church, — who were of the organizing committee — with 
power to add to their number ; and four gentlemen, non- 
residents, were added. The general purpose of this school 
was " to prepare young ladies to become teachers and 
educators of youth, and to fill other useful stations in life." 

In behalf of the Trustees, a circular was issued, dated 
March 24th, 1837, saying, the first term of the school 
would begin May 3d, 1837, and the school was to be wholly 
separate from the male seminary. It was of this school 
that Miss Washburn was the principal. For the summer 
term, there were fifty-three pupils, and during the year, 
seventy-seven. Miss Washburn was the principal for three 
years : and she was followed by Miss Emma M. Converse, 
in May, 1840. Miss Converse was the last teacher. 

It seemed best to give the foregoing sketch uninter- 
ruptedly : and now we return to the year 1833, when Mr. 
E. Porter Dyer, a graduate of Brown University, opened, 
in September, a school for boys and girls, in the Centre 
school-house. After Mr. Williams left the Academy there 
had been no select school that boys could attend, until 
Mr. Dyer's was opened. There was so good an attendance 
the first term that for the second, the hall over the Bank 
was engaged and was properly fitted up. Mr. Dyer had for 
his assistant in teaching German and French, Mr. Henry S. 
Dale, also a graduate of Brown ; and Miss Rebecca Gregory 
gave lessons in music. To distinguish this school from 
Miss Brigham's, kept at the same time, it was called 
" The Classical School." Mr. Dyer continued to teach this 



Mil \M\ \\ 111. 

Bchoo] with L''i">'l success for aboul :i year and :i half. In 
the spring of 1835, Dr. J. M. Macomlwr taught thin -• 
lor ..lir term, until Charle C. J< nrett, who would graduate 
ptember, 1835, oould assume tin- charge of it. When 
Mr. Jewett took it. th«' school must have been moved t<> the 
Academy building, and Mi Mill. win. 
Brighani, musl have moved her school i<> the hall over the 
Bank. It was about tin- time thai the trees were Bet out 
J tt, that Mr. Chapin refers t" in the A.Mr. 

Mr. Jewett was followed bj Mr. Grout, and Mr. Grout 
l.\ A. L. Stone, — no* the Rev. A. I.. Stone, D.D., ot 
Francisco. Mr. Stone waa succeeded l»\ Dr. Macoml>cr, 
still residing in town, who retained his connection with the 
Bchool until the spring of 1851, with the exception of one 
or two term-, when Dr. Rickard, then studying his pro- 
fession with Dr. Robbins, was the principal. Alter Dr. 
Macomber resigned his office, Mr. VV( h<><>l 

for about m year, when Nathan Goldthwait became the 
principal, who held that office until the opening of the 
High School by the town in 1 - 

In the account eriven of the Libraries of the town, mention 
i- made of the Circulating Librarj of G< S luthwick, 

an. I that in the same room where il was kept, there was a 

Classical School kepi by Jezaniah Barrett. Through the 

rches of Jonathan F. South wick, I am able | 
tin- school of Barrett's, that it preceded the establishment 

of any similiar -el I in the centre of the town bj -.-me 

twenty years; being established about 1800, an. I lasting 
for five years. Mr. Southwick for son* m l>ccame 

dissatisfied with Mr. Barrett, and the school, 



196 APPENDIX XVIII. 

it was a classical school, was discontinued ; but his daughter 
Ruth opened a school that was kept six days in the week, 
and the tuition, — we mention it for the young people of 
to-day, that an idea may be gained of the times three- 
quarters of a century ago, — was 12£ cents a week. George 
Farnum, the librarian, was Barrett's assistant, "as he 
wanted to learn some of the languages expecting to go to 
France, but never did." 

Editor, 1879. 



APPENDIX XIX 



The Ltjbb \kh - in Oxbrtdgi . 

In pursuing my investigations int<> th<- history of the 
libraries that have from time t<» time existed in Uxbrid I 
found, in tin- address "t" Mr. < !hapin, a referenoe t<> thi 
that George South wick," :it the time he was carrying on his 
extensive business in that pari <>t" the town once called 
•« Quaker City ," kept a circulating library ; and suspecting 
thai thi- collection of books must have been the firsl library 
in town that was not private, I wrote t" Jonathan F. 
Southwick, and In- has Bent me the following valuable 
letter about a matter of much local Intererest and of 
pardonable local pride. The letter i- dated, 

•« 9th, 8th in-».. 1879. 

I received thy letter dated s mo., 25th, and I will 
endeavor t" give thee :ill the information that I can <»l>tain 
and what I know about the library. 

It was called the ■ Uxbridge Social and Instructive 
Library,' a- thee will -«•■■ by the leaf I send thee, that I 
took from a 1»«m.|< I found in tin- neighborhood, and the 
Dumber "t" Baid book. I found <»ii<- book numbered 103. 
'I'll.' leaf referred t.> is the title I a Life of Capt. 

James Cook, by Andre* Eippis, D. D., etc., published 
at Basil, 1789. Library number, 52. The name, Ux- 
bridge Social and Instructive Library, with the date I 



• ni in lTlT D 18 T II 






198 APPENDIX XIX. 

was placed on the door of the room where the books Mere 
kept, which was in a chamber of an out-building owned by 
George Southwick. The books were kept in a case, which 
it seems to me would hold several hundred volumes. I 
recollect when the stockholders assembled to divide the 
books, that there was quite a collection of people, and some 
strife about the division of the books. Some of the stock- 
holders belonged in Rhode Island. I have no doubt that 
this was the tirst library in town. I believe it was discon- 
tinued about the year 1812. In the room where the library 
was kept, there was also a school kept by a teacher of the 
languages, which was very well attended by scholars from 
Rhode Island and from this town ; the room at times was 
crowded. The teacher's name was Jezaniah Barrett."* 

For the following facts, with regard to the libraries in the 
centre of the town, I am indebted to the researches of 
Charles A. Wheelock : — 

It is difficult to trace accurately the history of the Libra- 
ries in Uxbridge prior to the establishment of " The Ux- 
bridge Free Public Library," by a vote of the town April 
6, 1874, as they have all passed out of existence, and none 
of the early records, so far as I know, can be found. It is 
within the knowledge of the writer that there was a " Social 
Library" in the town in 1821, how much earlier he is 
unable to tell ; nor is he aware that any shareholder of that 
library is living. 

A volume now lies before me, vol. 3d, of " Goldsmith's 
History of England, 5th edition, Dublin, printed by'W. 
Porter for W. Gilbert and others, 1776," which has the 
following inscription : 

" Uxbridge Second Social Library, No. 75, Price $1.12£." 



• Mr. Barrett published an English Grammar that Mr. C. A. Wheeloci 
remembers to have seen. 



\1IIM.|\ \l\ 

Several volumes arc in m\ possession which were Imughl 
by iu\ father when the librarj was discontinued. This 
being th< tid Social Library '" would indicate thai 

there was another in existence at the time tin- was formed, 
or ih.it | ni\ iously t<> this time there had been anothei 

Another library was formed as early a- L880 or 1 
which continued to live with varying of usefulness 

until the establishment of the •• I • ■ Public Libi 
As many as a thousand volumes, may, at one time have 
longed t<> it. a- we have seen volumes which wen- numb 
over eight hundred, and during the forty yen--, of it- exist - 
ence it was used by m large number of persona. Books were 
purchased and added by the monej I from admission 

fees, the annual tax, and the fines. J 

In the spring of 1873, tl Uxbridge Library Associa- 
tion " offered the books belonging to the Association to the 
town, a- a nucleus tor a public library, " provided th<' town 

will establish Buch a library." About the -a time the 

••Uxbridge Agricultural Library Association" made a 
similar offer, with the same condition. 

At the annual Maivh meeting in L874, then- being an 
.•nii, le in tin- warrant tor the consideration of the ~ui>j. 
was voted t<> appropriate the H Dog Fund," for the purpose 



• attention It esltod i" tha tatter >>f Mr. Bouthwtek. 

• h ipUt*l ; 

" 

from ill khi 



200 APPENDIX XIX. 

of a Public Library, amounting to two hundred and seventy- 
five dollars. 

A committee, previously appointed, now presented rules 
for the management of a public library : the report of the 
committee, and its recommendations, were adopted by the 
town, and a Board of Trustees was chosen at the same 
time. 

The Uxbridge Free Public Library, thus established, 
went into operation for the delivery of books, January 20, 
1875, and had on its shelves six hundred and eighty- 
nine volumes ; five hundred and fifteen of which were 
received from the ' ' Uxbridge Library Association " and the 
' ' Agricultural Library Association ; " ninety-seven were 
received as presents from individuals, and seventy-seven 
volumes were bought by the Trustees. 

The library has now been used four years, and the num- 
ber of books on "the catalogue has increased to two thousand 
one hundred and fifty-four, with many pamphlets and bound 
volumes, valuable for reference, not on the printed catalogue. 

The number of readers has increased annually since the 
oj^ening of the Library, and the indications are that a large 
increase in the present year over the past may be expected. 
The readers come from all classes and from every part of 
the town. 

The annual expenses, met by appropriations made by 
the town (which includes the "Dog Fund"), have been a 
little more than four hundred dollars. This includes the 
sum received for fines for books kept beyond the time 
allowed by the rules. 

In 1877, a former resident of Uxbridge made a communi- 



Mil \M\ \l\ L'"l 

cation t<> the l tees, enclosing a eheck for five hundred 
dollars, with the requesl that it should be spent for books 
for tin- library. This requesl was complied with, and the 
treneroua (river was heartily thanked for this munificent L r in. 
By this means, .- 1 1 1 otherwise unlooked-for .- 1 1 1 • I most valuable 
addition was made to the library. 

It is well to add, that the library has gained -<» much in 
favor with tin- people «>t' the town, that it- future in< 
and usefulni rendered certain, unless some 

abuses creep into it- management. 

Editor. 



APPENDIX XX. 



Banks in Uxbridge. 
Tlie Blackstone Bank. 

The Blackstone Bank was incorporated August 27th, 
1825, with a capital of $100,000, divided into one thousand 
shares. In 1865, the name was changed to Blackstone 
National Bank ; — the capital remaining the same as before. 

The Presidents have been as follows : 

John Capron, from August 27th, 1825, to August 17th, 
1829. 

Bezaleel Taft, Jr., from October 4th, 1830, to October 
5th, 1846. 

Paul Whitin, from October 5th, 1846, to October 5th, 
1865. 

In October, 1865, Moses Taft was chosen President and 
still holds the office. 

The Cashiers have been as follows : 

Jonathan Gregory, from August 27th, 1825, to October 
3d, 1836. 

Ebenezer White Hayward, from October 3d, 1836, until 
his death, May 5th, 1875, a period of nearly forty years. 
Mr. Hayward deserves something more than this passing 
notice. 

He was born in Braintree, May 22, 1798. In 1831, he 
became Cashier of the Mcndon Bank, and when that Bank 



Mil M.|\ \\ 

was discontinued, he was in Cashier ol the 

Uxhridge Bunk, v\itli whose pros|>erity he ever after most 
thoroughly identified himself, proving a most diligent, I 
fill and trustworthy officer. He was a true gentleman, an 
humble christian and the embodiment of integrity in :ill the 
relatione <»i" life. A pleasanter face and :i more cheerful 
.me seldom sees or hears. Hia name is a legacy to all 
\\ ho knew him. 

Mi. 1 l.i\ ward married Mi— Susan Burl>eck in Mendon, 
February 27th, 1827, who <li<''l in 1872. rwo sons and 
tw.> daughters are no^ living. During !!;<■ I irs of 

Mi . 1 1 : ,\ ward's sen i< e, Mr. ' hai l< S. West m 
ap|X)inted Assistant-Cashier, and he succeeded to 1 1n- otli< c 
mi ili«- death of Mr. II fward, and now holds the offioi 

On the nighf of Jul) L2th, L874, masked men, having 
t'n-t forced their entrance into the house of Mr. Hayward, 
compelled tin- Assistant-Cashier to go with them to the 
Bunk, and under threats of death to open the safe. The 

amount of money taken was about $13, '. The robliers 

were never discovered ; buf some private propert) , de|K)sited 
in the Bank, was found in Boston at a place designated by 
tin- robbers. 

The Uxbrid is tig* Bank was incorporated Jum 

1 870. 

rident, Moses Taft. 

Treasurer, ( harles A. Taft. 

The amount deposited during the first year or two utfton- 

ished »\ en it - most sanguine fi iends. 

roR, 1 5 



APPENDIX XXI. 



The Burying-Grounds. 

The lot of land, where now stands the Town House, the 
High School, the Methodist Church, is the lot that Daniel 
Tail gave the town for a burying-place. The deed is dated 
March 20th, 1737 ; and according to the deed, he gave the 
land " for, and in consideration of the love and affection I 
bear to y e town of Uxbridge ; " and ' ' for diverse other val- 
uable considerations me moving hereunto." I find, that 
previous to the gift, the land had been used for a burying- 
place. 

In 1761, November 13th, the town voted to fence the 
burying-ground with a stone wall, four and a half feet high. 
In 1768, the town voted to fence the burying-ground — the 
money to be raised by subscription. 

By a deed, dated April 13th, 1795, and recorded August 
26th of the same year, Jonathan Farnum conveyed to the 
town the land commonly known as the neAV burying-ground, 
" in consideration of the sum of 20£ lawful money paid me 
by the inhabitants of Uxbridge." This lot of land contained 
one and a half acres. Mr. Farnum reserved to himself and 
his heirs forever, six square rods of land, where his father, 
David Farnum, was buried; provided the town would 
make, and keep in repair, a good fence around said tract. 

The first interment in this ground, was the body of 



UTENDI2 \\i. 

Ebenezer White, August 21st, 1793, Tin- was some four 
.iii.l a half years before the division of tin- land into lota i 
i.\ order <>f the town: for in 17:»7. September 6th, it was 
voted to choc >mmittee t.p divide the new burying- 

ground into l"t-, bo as t<> accommodate famines in the most 
convenient manner, and to take a plan • >!" the same, and lay 
the same before the town for their approbation. The 
committee reported a plan February li'th, IT'.'n which was 
adopted. Bnt tin- plan does aol appear <>n the records. 

The <>1<1 burying-CTOtind continued i<> be u~i-. I until about 
L854. Mr. Scot! 3 '. x -- 'I"' last adult buried in 

the old ground was a man named Stone, who <li'! 
belong here — he was employed as an hostler and was 
killed by the trick of a horse. Hie last, belonging to the 
town, buried here, were Patty Peirce and Mrs. Caleb 
Farnum. 

In l s .'>.">. Dea. W. C. Capron opened his land, containing 
eighl acres and fifty-one rods, adjoining tli»' new burying- 
ground, for a new cemetery, calling it Prospect Hill Ceme- 
tery. The first body buried here was the wife of .I"~i:ih S. 
Knowlton, in the autumn of 1855. The first deeds were 
made out Ma\ 1-t. 1856. The first deed was given ft 
Newell, <>f Providence, Rhode Island, and conveyed 1 1 * * - lot 
linw D\\ aed by Ebenezer 1 1. I ».i\ is. 

At first, Mi'. Capron generously spent all the money li<- 
received from the sale of l"t-. in embellishing the grounds, 
laying out walks and drives, setting "Ut trees, and grading. 
Afterwards he retained one half of the purchase money. 

From the yeai 1-' • to 1 N 7.'«. remains were taken from 
the old ground and placed in Prosjxjcl Hill Cemetery ; and 



206 APPENDIX XXI. 

a record of the bodies, as obtained from the gravestones, may 
be found on the town records ; — the body of Rev. Nathan 
Webb, the first settled minister of Uxbridge, being among 
the number ; but the order of the names on the town records 
is not the order in which the bodies were removed : — these 
bodies were interred in lots bought by the town of Deacon 
Capron for the purpose. Three were purchased in 1 8(511, 
December 20th, and three more in 1871, September 20th. 
In March, 1876, in town meeting, the town considered 
the question " to see if the town will vote to appropriate a 
sum of money for the purpose of improving the town's lot 
in Prospect Hill Cemetery," — and chose a committee to carry 
the same into effect. " Voted, to refer it to the selectmen, 
who shall report at a future meeting." Upon Article 21st, 
March 12th, 1877, the town voted that Henry Capron, 
Moses T. Murdock and Henry G. Taft be a committee to 
carry into effect the suggestions of the former committee, 
at an expense not exceeding $250. In March, 1879, the 
town voted to increase its appropriation $150 for repairing 
and fixing up its lot in the cemetery. 

In 1863, a suit was brought against the town for trespass 
on the old burying-ground. The position taken was, that 
the land being given by Daniel Taft for a burying-ground 
" forever," precluded the town from using it for any other 
purpose, as it was intending to do. It was decided by the 
Supreme Court, that a grant of land which is to be used for 
a burying-place " forever," " in consideration of love and 
affection," and " For diverse other valuable considerations," 
is not a grant upon conditions, and the town gained the suit. 

I am indebted to the research of Friend Jonathan F. 



Mil M-I\ \\l 






Soutbwick, for the followin with regard t«. the 

Friend's i>m\ inL'-L r i'<>nniU in the south pari of the t<>\\n. 

Il> u The oldest burying-ground in Uxbridgo, \\<- 

think, i- owned i'\ tin- heirs "i <i. • . Southwick. Ii 
contains :ii>"iit three-quarters of an acre." The southern 
part of the t<»\sn was first settled i»\ the Southwicks, who 
came from Salem about the year L700. Daniel, called 
•• Preacher Daniel," is the first of whom we can -peak with 
certainty : and b} him, tin- place for burial was probably 
laid out. H<- and hi- wife li«' here. The first burial <•!' 
which we have authentic record was in 1746, but many 
were buried hen- at an earlier 'late Friends in those days 
* 1 i * i imt use marked stones, but would use common flat 
stones t<> indicate where a body was placed. The oldest 
marked stones now visible, bear the date of 1811. The 
burial-ground owned, and now used, by the Uzbridge meet- 
ing ot' Friends, was purchased by them of M 1 irnum 
in 1800, containing halt' an acre, and i- situated verj 
the brick meeting-house, built Mi 177<>. The -tone-, marked 
1749, 1 T.v.i. i77t*. an. I 1780, were removed from other 
grounds and placed h< 

Edi roB. 



APPENDIX XXII. 



We give, in the following list, the names — so far as we 
have been able to procure them, and we have tried to be 
very accurate in making it up — of the soldiers in the armies 
in the United States engaged in putting down the rebellion, 
who enlisted as residents of Uxbridge. The list, therefore, 
does not include the names of those who stand to the credit 
of the town, nor do we give the regiments in which these 
men enlisted, because it scarcely seemed necessary to do so. 

Those whose names are marked with a star (*), died, 
either in the service of the United States, or as prisoners of 
war. 

This whole list, we now and here gratefully and tenderly 
place on record. 



Aldrich, G. 
Aldrich, Gideon 
Aldrich, James G. 
Aldrich, John A. 
Aldrich, M. A. 
Aldrich, W. D. F. 
Andy, J. 
Anson, Henry 
Anthony, Sylvanus 
Arnold, Edmond C. 

Bacon, James M. 
Ballon, G. 



Barnam, W. H. 
Barrows, Chester 
Barry, J. 
Bennett, James 
Bent, Ferdinand A. 
Blanchard, W. 
Bolster, Andrew J. 
Bolster, G. W. 
Boyce, James 
Bradford, C. 
Braman, C. 
*Braman, P. E. 
Brashaw, J. 



\ 1-1-1 M-l\ WII. 






Brick, Orville 
Brown, George 
Bryant, Perry 
• Bnrril, Abraham 
Bush, Augustus L. 

Gadwell, JeronM 
Oarpenter, A 
Carpenter, J. 
Chapman, II. 
Chappell, J. 
Christy, w. J. 
Clark, Elmore 
( Heveland, ( Snarlee 
Cole, ( reorge K. 
Cole, ( hranviHe 
•Cole, W. J. 
•< Oar, H. A. 
Cooney, Andrew 
< ive, Lewis 

( \o} le, l':itri< k 
QnmmingH, Jnliai 

I toxter, .1"-. W, 
Donnell, K. M< 

Dully, John 

Dugan, Mi< li.K-l 
Duffee, Owen 

ESfun \ |(. 
17 



. l . 
] ley, II. M 

Parris, Daniel K. 
Pinchon, T. 
Pitch, G. <> 
Pitch, II. V 
Pitagerald, W, 
Pits-SimmoB . \ ] 
Puller, Clifford 

le, \ I :' I ■ •' 

Gibney, LdJd I' 
Gibson, II. 0, 
GifTord, Joe, II. 
( hraham, 1 1« i n\ 1 1. 
Guild, ( tliver A 

Sail, Chandler 
Hall, ( teorge 
Ban, John I>. 
Hall, Stephen 
Hamilton, Thomai 
■ 1 1 > den, Prank 
• 1 1 .!■-.. Walter 

...r.l. II I 
»HDand, I 
Hill, Reuben 
Hinchcliff, J. 
Hollis, A. J, 



210 



APPENDIX XXII. 



Holroyd, G. 
Horton, Andrew 
Horton, H. 
Horton, Jerome 
Howard, C. H. 
Howard, W. C. 

Johnson, Albro 
Johnson, Stephen C. 
Johnson, J. H. 

Kavanah, James 
Keeting, Francis 
Kemp, David 
Kenny, George W. 

Kenney, 

Kenness, J. 
Keinnay, Jas. H. 
Kelley, J. 
Kingston, Harrison 
Kinney, George W. 
Kernes, Peter 

Lackey, Eugene 
Lackey, Samuel W. 
Legge, Geo. W. 
*Legge, H. H. 
Lynch, James 

Magec, J. A. 



Mahoney, J. F. 
McArthur, W. S. 
McArthur, Walter 
*Metcalf, A. B. 
Metcalf, W. H. 
Minott, Franklin 
Minott, W. H. 
Morrisey, John 
* Mo wry, Arnold 
Mulligan, James 
Murdock, Walter 
Murphy, J. 

Olney, Ed. 
O'Sullivan, James 

Rawson, C. C. 
Rawson, Orrin 
Reed, James 
Reed, Levi 
Richardson, Dexter 
Russell, James 
Ryan, Ed. 
Ryan, W. 
Ryder, James 
Rugg, Chas. H. 

*Sabin, R. M. 
Sawyer, Willard W. 
Scarborough, Elias 



Mil \|.|\ Wll. 



I'll 



Schofield, 

Chaa. S. 

nk 
i\ e, Jurat - 
L. 

• . I.:r.\ BOD A. 

rave, A. Mason 

:\ . . \V. II. 

:vv. J. 

Sheehen, Napoleon B. 
Sherman, A. A . 
,G W. 
Smith, Charlee M 
Smith, J. 
Smith. J. 
Smith, Sam. \V. 
Smrti 

Taft, Francis M. 



I I - I ! \ I . 

Tafl ,1 c D 

Thompson, < barlee II. 
Thompson, Eli D. 
Thompson, < >> ■ 
Thompson, Samuel < '. 
I mey, Farrell 

Vibberta, I .. L. 

Wilber, Daniel 
Wilber, Jos. II. 
Wilcox, Noah 
Wilson, Charles 
Wilson, Hiram 
Wheeler, Chas. E. L 
White, Addison K. 
Whitmore, Hannibal 
W I. William 

A. W. \m> Editor. 



APPENDIX XXIII. 



Mi:-. M ua; \i:i:i L. I'.i \\r i i . 

In the Uxbridgi ' \dium of May 1"». 1875, ap] 

ed the following notice of Margarel L. Bennett, daughter 

II . !'•■ iloel Tuft, Jr., and Hannah i Spring) Taft, who 
ua- born Nov. 1 l. 1818, and died May '.'. 1875. It seems 
appropriate i" give place here i<> the mention <>r one whose 
memory livee in many hearts, and who was closely at 
ated for many war- with tin- beet interests of her native 
tow n : — 



I [bridge has sustained an irreparable 1"-- in the death 
of Mr-. Margarel L. Bennett, wife <>f Dr. \. w . Bennett, 
whose earthly pilgrimage closed on Sunday, Maj 9th. 
Mrs. Bennett was prominently identified with the Sunday 
School work <>f the Unitarian Church, and \\:i- peculiarly 
fitted for a teacher and director <>t" tin- \<>uiiL r . She had 
charge of the infant class for a period of oearlj si? 
n. 

Mr-. Bennett was a woman of literary tastes, and ; 

! more than ordinary strength a- a writer of Sunday 

School Books. A.mong the productions of her pen are: 

I. .mi- on the Life "i" the Saviour," "Every 

Sunday," and '* Manj Teachers but < >ii' !.• on," which 

wen' written especially for the young. < >t I h •!■ work- of 



-£ 



214 APPENDIX XXIII. 

hers, adapted for older readers, are entitled: "Day unto 
Day," and " The Bible Eule of Life," and have been highly 
spoken of, and widely circulated, both in this country and 
abroad. 

We can add nothing which will more fittingly illustrate 
the importance of Mrs. Bennett's work, than the following 
extract from an article written by Hon. Henry Chapin, and 
published in the Worcester Spy: 

" No brief tribute can do justice to Mrs. Bennett's life 
and character. Many have known her in her Sunday 
School Books, and in the little volume for every day in 
the year, entitled : ' Day unto Day,' but those who have 
known her for so many years, the devoted teacher of a 
large infant class in the Sunday School, and have met her 
in the charming intercourse of her daily life, realize more 
clearly the purity and nobility of her nature. Always 
busy, yet always at leisure for the exercise ol" Christian 
hospitality, she blended in herself the qualities of mind 
and heart which made her a blessing in her home, and a 
benediction to the whole community. It needed not that 
she should pass on, to leave a record that all should 
cherish. She bore with her, day by day, the love and 
homage of all who knew her. 

The true blessing of such a life ceases not with the life 
of the body. Although her angelic presence is no longer 
with us, the sanctifying influence of her example shall 
remain, to hallow and bless the world in which she so 
thoroughly tilled up the measure of christian duty." 



